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The  Function  Of  Divine  Manifestations 
In  New  Testament  Times 


A  DISSERTATION 

SUBMITTED  TO  THE  FACULTY 

OF  THE  GRADUATE  SCHOOI.  OF  ARTS  AND  LITERATURE 

IN  CANDIDACY  FOR  THE  DEGREE  OF 

DOCTOR  OF  PHILOSOPHY 

DEPARTMENT  OT  NEW  TESTAMENT  AND  EARLY  CHRISTIAN  LITERATURE  IN  Trff? 
GRAIUATE  DIVINITiY  SCaOOL 


BY 
LEROY  H.  STAFFORD 


GEORGE  BANTA  PUBLISHING  COMPANY 

MENASHA,  WISCONSIN 

1919 


Digitized  by  the  Internet  Archive 

in  2007  with  funding  from 

IVIicrosoft  Corporation 


http://www.archive.org/details/functionofdivineOOstafrich 


QH\t  TUnxntTBXtQ  nf  (Ktjtrago 


The  Function  Of  Divine  Manifestations 
In  New  Testament  Times 


A  DISSERTATION 

SUBMITTED  TO  THE  FACULTY 

OF  THE  GRADUATE  SCHOOL  OF  ARTS  AND  LITERATURE 

IN  CANDIDACY  FOR  THE  DEGREE  OF 

DOCTOR  OF  PHILOSOPHY 

DEPARTMENT  OF  NEW  TESTAMENT  AND  EARLY  CHRISTIAN  LITERATUBE  IN  THE 
GRADUATE  DIVINITY  SCHOOL 


BY 
LEROY  hAtAFFORD 


•  •  ' .  •  "  » ' 


iEORGE  BANTA  PUBLISHING  COMPANY 

MENASHA,  WISCONSIN 

1919 


5^ 


gAOM«W» 


Chapter 

I. 

Chapter 

II. 

Chapter 

III. 

Chapter 

IV. 

Chapter 

V. 

Chapter 

VI. 

Chapter 

VII. 

Chapter  VIII. 

Chapter 

IX. 

Chapter 

X. 

TABLE  OF  CONTENTS 

PAGE 

Introduction 1 

Physical  Manifestations 5 

Manifestations  Without  Visible  Agents 16 

Apparitions 24 

Divine  Possession 34 

The  Prophet 56 

Portents 71 

Divination 81 

The  Inspired  Book 88 

Conclusion 105 


^ 


433148 


CHAPTER  I 

Introduction 

Acquaintance  with  the  historical  remains  of  the  ancient  world  reveals 
a  mass  of  material  relating  to  a  wide  range  of  occurrences  which  may  be 
designated  as  divine  manifestations.  The  character  of  these  occurrences 
may  be  indicated  by  a  few  typical  examples.  The  god  Dionysos  dis- 
played himself  to  the  Thebans  in  the  form  of  a  man.  Yahweh  the  god 
of  the  Hebrews  permitted  Moses  and  the  seventy  elders  to  obtain  a 
ghmpse  of  his  person.  The  divine  Logos  incarnate  in  the  historical  Jesus 
passed  a  considerable  period  among  the  dwellers  on  earth. 

Zeus  once  drew  off  a  flood  of  waters  which  swept  over  the  earth,  and 
Yahweh  sent  an  inundation  to  destroy  mankind.  Demeter  made  the 
corn  to  grow,  Zeus  regulated  the  seasons  and  sent  hail,  snow,  and  rain, 
and  Yahweh  caused  the  earth  to  yield  its  increase.  Deity  in  a  vision 
informed  the  mother  of  Augustus  that  her  son  had  been  engendered  by 
Apollo,  and  an  angel  in  an  apparition  announced  to  Mary  the  mother  of 
Jesus  before  her  marriage  that  she  should  conceive  under  the  influence  of 
the  Holy  Ghost  and  bear  a  son  who  should  be  called  the  Son  of  God.  The 
divine  frenzy  of  the  worshipper  of  Dionysos  indicated  to  him  that  he 
had  actually  become  god,  and  the  Christian  in  a  similar  state  felt  that 
his  exalted  mental  condition  was  proof  that  an  immortal  spirit  dwelt 
within  him. 

Calamity,  famine,  and  pestilence  were  indications  that  Zeus  was 
punishing  wrongdoing.  Yahweh  smote  the  patriarch  Reuben  in  the 
loins  for  seven  months  on  account  of  sin.  Because  of  deception  Ananias 
and  Sapphira  were  stricken  dead  by  God.  The  pagan  preacher  or  prophet 
who  could  say  "  Such  is  great  Zeus '  word  to  me  "  (Liv.  xxv.  12)  was  looked 
upon  as  a  "messenger  from  Zeus  to  men, "  a  "pedagogue  of  the  public"  to 
lead  men  to  God  (Epict.  Disc.  ii.  22)  and  spoke  with  as  much  assurance 
of  being  the  mouthpiece  of  deity  as  did  the  Hebrew  or  Christian  prophet 
who  could  say  "Thus  saith  the  Lord. "  A  star  informed  the  world  that 
Caesar  had  become  a  god;  a  similar  phenomenon  revealed  to  the  magi 
that  the  infant  Jesus  was  worthy  of  worship.    Deity  chose  by  lot  the 


f  *    •  J  *  I 
•  •  •  ^,'' . 


2  DIVINE  MANIFESTATIONS  IN  NEW  TESTAMENT  TIMES 

twenty-one  priests  required  to  fill  up  the  ranks  of  the  reorganized  Roman 
sacerdotal  college.  Yahweh  thus  indicated  his  choice  of  Saul  for  king, 
and  selected  the  priests  who  were  to  hold  positions  of  trust  and  honor  in 
connection  with  the  temple-service.  So  also  God  chose  Matthias  instead 
of  Barsabbas  to  take  the  place  of  Judas  in  the  early  Christian  ecclesiastical 
organization.  The  Sibylline  books  told  the  Romans  that  Jupiter,  Juno, 
and  Minerva  desired  certain  sacrifices  before  granting  the  state  aid 
against  the  Carthaginians.  From  their  sacred  writings  the  Hebrews  and 
the  Jews  discovered  that  Yahweh  would  not  protect  the  nation  if  circum- 
cision, or  other  requirements,  were  neglected.  In  a  similar  manner 
Christians  discovered  that  God's  will  for  them  was  holiness  in  living 
"because  it  is  written.  Ye  shall  be  holy,  for  I  am  holy. " 

It  is  to  phenomena  such  as  these  that  the  designation  divine  mani- 
festation is  appHed  in  the  following  pages.  Synonymous  with  the  term 
as  thus  employed  are  various  other  expressions,  such  as  supernatural 
manifestation,  supernatural  occurrence,  superhuman  manifestation, 
manifestation  of  deity,  and  supernatural  phenomenon. 

To  define  divine  manifestation  as  the  term  is  here  used  is  by  no  means 
easy.  A  working  definition,  however,  may  be  set  down  at  this  point: 
the  term  supernatural  manifestation,  as  it  is  used  in  the  present  dis- 
cussion, is  taken  to  mean  any  experience  of  an  individual  or  of  a  group 
which  those  undergoing  it,  or  those  discussing  or  recording  it,  interpreted 
as  due  to  the  activity  of  personal  powers  other  than  human. 

In  the  world  in  which  Christianity  originated  experiences  of  this 
nature  were  of  frequent  occurrence.  They  were  not,  however,  Hmited  to 
the  period  in  which  the  new  faith  arose,  nor  were  they  confined  to  any 
particular  race,  geographical  area,  or  social  stratum.  King  and  emperor, 
soldier  and  statesman,  litterateur  and  peasant,  Greek  and  Roman, 
Hebrew  and  Graeco-Roman,  Jew  and  Christian,  all  alike  experienced 
divine  manifestations. 

In  view  of  the  universal  character  of  supernatural  manifestations,  the 
purpose  of  the  following  pages  is  two-fold:  first,  a  presentation  of  typical 
Jewish  and  Hellenistic  examples  of  divine  manifestations  similar  to  those 
in  the  Christianity  of  the  New  Testament,  and,  second,  a  comparative 
study  of  the  function  of  these  phenomena  in  the  Hfe  of  the  Judaism, 
Hellenism,  and  Christianity  of  the  New  Testament  period.  In  other 
words,  the  problem  to  be  investigated  is.  What  did  divine  manifestations 
do  for  the  people  of  the  Mediterranean  world  in  the  first  century?    Was 


DIVINE  MANIFESTATIONS  IN  NEW  TESTAMENT  TIMES  ,5 

the  part  which  they  played  in  the  Christianity  of  the  NewJTestament 
period  similar  to  or  entirely  different  from  the  part  which  they  played  in 
the  life  of  the  contemporary  world? 

It  cannot  be  too  strongly  insisted  at  this  point  that  the  interest  of  the 
following  pages  centers  primarily  in  the  question  of  function,  and  that  the 
matter  of  genetic  relationship  based  on  identity  of  form  is  completely  below 
the  horizon.  At  no  point  in  this  discussion  is  it  argued,  either  explicitly 
or  by  impHcation,  that,  because  similar  phenomena  may  be  found  in 
Hellenism,  Judaism,  and  Christianity,  the  one  must  necessarily  have 
copied  from  either  or  both  of  the  others.  How  it  came  about  that 
similarities  of  form  exist  is  undoubtedly  an  interesting  and  important 
question,  but  it  is  one  with  which  we  are  not  here  concerned.  In  passing, 
the  author  may  state  that  it  is  his  personal  opinion  that  any  solution 
which  finds  the  answer  in  any  scheme  of  copying  or  borrowing,  whether 
carried  out  consciously  or  unconsciously,  on  the  basis  of  individual  forms, 
is  entirely  too  formal  and  mechanical  to  fit  into  the  vital  needs  of  an 
actual  social  situation.  Rather  it  is  his  opinion  that,  viewing  the  problem 
in  its  entirety,  we  must  conclude  that  similarities  in  form  among  Hellen- 
ism, Judaism,  and  Christianity,  when  such  are  found,  are  due,  not  directly 
to  borrowing  but  indirectly  to  the  fact  that  the  three  had  their  roots  deep 
in  a  common  soil.  This  common  soil  was  the  entire  social  situation  of  the 
time — a  soil  made  up  of  common  human  needs,  desires,  aspirations,  and 
of  a  common  world-view. 

An  illustration  may  serve  to  clear  up  this  point.  Vespasian,  Josephus, 
and  Peter  had  visions  which  gave  them  divine  help  at  crises  in  their  lives, 
not  because  any  one  copied  or  imitated  either  or  both  of  the  others,  but 
because  it  was  a  generally  accepted  tenet  of  the  life  of  the  time  that  the 
dream  or  vision  was  one  of  the  ways  in  which  divine  help  could  be  secured. 
This  dissertation  therefore  does  not  argue  the  question  of  genetic  relation- 
ship based  on  identity  of  form,  either  in  the  matter  of  visions  and  dreams, 
or  in  the  matter  of  any  of  the  phenomena  discussed  in  the  following 
pages.  It  asks  simply.  What  did  visions,  and  all  other  divine  manifesta- 
tions, do  for  the  people  who  experienced  them?  and  it  leaves  out  of 
account  all  reference  to  the  problem  whether  Christianity  copied  from 
contemporary  sources  or  whether  contemporary  sources  copied  from 
Christianity. 

The  media  through  which  experience  of  the  superhuman  came  to  the 
people  of  the  time  were  various.    A  classification  which  may  not  be 


4  DIVINE  MANIFESTATIONS  IN  NEW  TESTAMENT  TIMES 

urged  too  rigidly  is  as  follows:  1.  Physical  appearances,  2.  Displays 
of  power  with  no  visible  agent.  3.  Apparitions.  4.  Possession.  5. 
Portents.  6.  The  Prophet.  7.  Divination.  8.  The  Inspired  Book. 
The  plan  pursued  in  the  subsequent  pages  is  to  set  forth  the  Graeco- 
Roman,  Jewish,  and  Christian  materials  under  each  of  these  heads,  and  to 
follow  the  whole  by  a  concluding  chapter  on  the  question  of  function. 

It  is  needless  to  state  that  no  effort  is  made  to  exhaust  the  Hellenistic 
and  Jewish  sources.  Neither  is  it  hoped  that  all  pertinent  matter  in  the 
New  Testament  itself  is  here  treated.  It  is  taken  for  granted  that  such 
readers  as  this  treatise  may  find  are  in  a  position  to  judge  of  the  repre- 
sentative character  of  the  materials  selected.  The  writer  is  of  the 
opinion  that  whatever  has  been  omitted,  be  it  Jewish,  Graeco-Roman,  or 
Christian,  had  it  been  included  in  the  discussion,  would  only  have  extended 
the  scope  of  the  study  and  not  materially  altered  the  conclusions  reached. 

Grateful  acknowledgement  is  here  made  of  the  help  received  in  various 
ways  in  the  preparation  of  this  dissertation  from  the  professors  in  the 
Department  of  New  Testament  and  Early  Christian  Literature  of  the 
University  of  Chicago,  and  especially  to  Professor  S.  J.  Case,  under  whose 
direction  and  with  the  aid  of  whose  advice  and  encouragement  the  dis- 
sertation was  prepared.  For  the  views  expressed,  however,  as  well  as 
for  such  errors  and  mistakes  as  may  appear,  the  author  is  alone 
responsible.  Prolonged  hours  of  continuous  service  in  a  naval  train- 
ing station,  far  removed  from  library  facilities,  while  the  reading  of 
the  proofs  was  in  progress,  has,  it  is  feared,  greatly  miHtated  against 
accuracy;  and  this  is  perhaps  especially  true  in  the  matter  of  the 
verification  of  references. 


CHAPTER  II 

Physical  Manifestations 

Material  and  physical  manifestations  of  supernatural  powers  oc- 
curred frequently  among  the  Greeks  and  Romans  in  the  ancient  world. 
In  many  of  the  instances  when  deity  so  displayed  himself  he  assumed 
human  form. 

Anthropomorphized  supernatural  powers  take  part  in  the  Trojan  war,* 
guide  the  shipwrecked  Aeneas  to  Dido's  palace,^  shed  blood  when 
wounded,^  have  sexual  relations  with  women,"*  wear  sandals  "  two  cubits 
in  length"  when  fertilizing  Egyptian  fields,^  fight  side  by  side  with 
soldiers  in  the  ranks,^  and  talk  and  run  races  with  men.^  The  beUef 
that  deity  appeared  in  human  form  is  clearly  expressed  in  the  Bacchae 
of  Euripides  where  the  god  Dionysos  says  "  I  have  assumed  the  likeness 
of  a  man  to  show  the  men  of  Thebes  the  deity  whom  Semele  bore  to 
Zeus.  "8 

How  reaHstically  the  people  of  the  age  regarded  such  phenomena  is 
illustrated  by  the  readiness  with  which  the  Roman  matron  Paulina,  her 
husband,  and  their  friends,  beHeved  she  had  had  sexual  relations  with  the 
god  Anubis,^  and  the  ease  with  which  the  natives  of  Lystra  accepted 
Barnabas  as  Jupiter  and  Paul  as  Mercury. 

Not  only  did  the  Graeco-Roman  of  the  first  century  thus  feel  that 
superior  beings  incarnated  themselves  in  the  flesh  in  their  own  proper 
bodies;  they  also  held  that  certain  individuals  were  manifestations  of 
deity  because  they  performed  divine  functions  or  displayed  divine  attri- 
butes. The  king  is  often  designated  '' savior,  "^°  and  was  looked  upon 
as  the  fulfiUer  of  the  gentile  Messianic  hope.^^    The  poet  Homer  was 

^IL  XX.  1  ff.  10  Soph.,  Oed.  Tyr.,  47-51;  cf.  22- 

Mew.i.  479ff.  26. 

3  //.  V.  330  fif.  "  A  en.,  vi.  788  ff.;  Horace,  Odes, 

*  Herod.,  i.  181,  182.  i.    2.   41  fif.;   iii.   5.    Iff.;    on    Gentile 

^Id.,n.9l.  Messianic   Hope,   see   discussion,   and 
"  Dion.  Halic,  Roman  Antt.,  i.  13.       citation  of  literature  and  sources,  in 

^  Herod.,  vi.  105.  Case,  Evolution  of  Early  Christianity, 

8  42ff.;  cf.  4  ff.,50  ff.,  54  ff.  pp.   218  ff.  and  Millennial  Hope,  pp. 

®  Joseph.,  ^w^/.,xviii.  3.  8  ff. 


O  DIVINE  MANIFESTATIONS  IN  NEW  TESTAMENT  TIMES 

worshipped  together  with  the  god  Apollo,^^  a  cult  of  rehgious  enthusiasts 
grew  up  about  the  person  of  the  physician  Aesculapius/^  the  warrior 
Caius  Marius  was  regarded  by  the  Numidians  as  more  than  human,^"* 
Miltaides  was  sacrificed  to  "as  is  usual  to  a  founder, "^^  the  giant  friend 
of  Xerxes,  Artachaees,  who  was  buried  at  Acanthus,  was  sacrificed  to 
and  invoked  by  name,^^  Philippus  was  honored  with  a  shrine  and  pro- 
pitiated with  sacrifices  "on  account  of  his  beauty, "^^  the  Cretans  re- 
garded Epimenides  as  "the  wisest  of  men"  and  "sacrificed  to  him  as  to 
a  god,  "^8  and  in  recognition  of  the  superiority  of  their  teaching  and  of  their 
other  excellencies  rehgious  communities  were  organized  about  the  persons 
of  Pythagoras  and  ApoUonius  of  Tyana.^^ 

Explanations  of  how  such  unusual  personages  were  enabled  to  occupy 
positions  distinguishing  them  from  their  fellows  varied.  Some  held  that 
the  fact  was  due  to  selection  or  special  appointment  by  deity.  Horace, 
in  describing  him  as  "  savior  "  of  the  state,  sings  the  praises  of  Augustus 
"  than  whom  no  boon  of  nobler  worth  Fate  or  kind  gods  ere  gave,  or  ere 
shall  give.  "20  in  his  Code  Hammurabi  says  "Bel  called  me  ...  to 
cause  justice  to  prevail  in  the  land  .  .  .  the  governor  named  by  Bel 
am  I.  .  .  ."21  Amenophis  H  says  "my  father  Re  .  .  .  made  me  lord 
of  the  living  ...  he  hath  given  me  the  whole  world  with  all  its  domin- 
ions, "  and  deity  himself  says  to  Rameses  III,  "I  lend  thee  the  earth  and 
all  that  is  upon  it.  "22 

Others  explained  such  individuals  by  making  them  of  superhimian, 
rather  than  of  human  origin.  Juhus  Caesar  in  an  Ephesian  inscription  is 
designated  "son  of  Ares  and  Aphrodite,  and  common  savior  of  human 
life,"  while  Augustus  is  elsewhere  styled  "savior"  and  "son  of  God. "2* 
Some  regarded  Pythagoras  as  "son"  of  Mercury,  some  of  Apollo,  and 
some  of  Jupiter.24    Aesculapius  was  a  son  of  Apollo,2^  and  ApoUonius  of 

^^  Aelian,  Var.  Hist.,  ix.  15.  ^Wdes,    ill.    5.    Iff.;    i.    2.    4  ff. 

^^  Paus.,  Descr.  of  Greece,  vii.  23;  ^^  Harper,    Code    of    Hammurabi, 

ii.  11;  X.  43;  vi.  26;  vii.  32;  ii.  26;  Liv.,  Chicago,  1904,  pp.  3  ff. 

ffw/.,  X.  44;  Valer.  Max.,  i.  82.  22  cjted  by   Renouf,  Hibbert  Lec- 

"  Sail.,  Jugur.  War,  92.  tures,  1879,  pp.  162  ff. 

^*  Herod.,  vi.  38.  ^^  Cited  by  Ca.se,  Evolution  of  Early 

i«  Id.,  vii.  117.  Christianity,  p.  212;  Suet.,  Atig.  94. 

"/J.,  V.  47.  24  Diog^  Laer.,  Pythag.,  4;  Iambi., 

"  Diog.  Laer.,  Epimen.  11.  op.  cit.,  2;  Philostr.,  op.  cit.,  i.  1,  4. 

^^  Id.,  Pythag.,  20,   21;    Philostr.,  ^^a,vi&.,  op.  cit.,  ii.  Id. 
Life  of  ApoUonius  of  Tyana,  i.  1,  6,  13, 
14;  Iambi.,  Vit.  Pythag.,  passim. 


DIVINE  MANIFESTATIONS  IN  NEW  TESTAMENT  TIMES  / 

Tyana,  a  son  of  Proteus  god  of  Egypt.^^  The  origin  of^suefe  personages 
was  not  only  distinguished  by  divine  paternity,  but  was  sometimes  unique 
in  other  respects.  Plato,  as  son  of  Apollo,  was  bom  of  a  virgin,  Peric- 
tione,  wife  of  Ariston,  who  married  her  and,  being  warned  in  a  dream, 
"abstained  from  approaching  her  until  after  her  confinement.  "^^  Often 
the  end  of  an  important  individual's  life  was  as  unusual  as  its  beginning. 
Some  thought  that  Romulus,  who  was  a  son  of  Mars  and  Rhea,  had 
ascended  to  heaven  without  undergoing  death,  but  others  were  of  the 
opinion  that  he  died  and  rose  again;  and  one  JuHus  Proculus  saw  him  after 
his  resurrection  "in  a  more  majestic  shape  than  he  had  when  alive"  and 
asserted  that  Romulus  "commanded  them  to  worship  him  as  a  deity. "^^ 

Another  explanation  of  individuals  functioning  as  deities  was  that 
they  were  incarnations  of  pre-existent  supernatural  powers.  Pythagoras 
underwent  as  many  as  six  incarnations,  one  of  them  as  "Pyrrhus  a  fisher- 
man of  Delos,  "2^  and  was  held  by  his  worshipers  to  be  Apollo  manifest 
in  the  flesh.^^  The  Stoics  regarded  every  man  as  an  incarnation  of  the 
pre-existent  logos,^^  while  others  held  it  to  be  embodied  in  Mercury.^^ 
Plutarch  identified  the  logos  with  Osiris,^^  and  in  the  Hermetic  Literature 
the  logos  is  manifested  in  Thoth.^^  Amenophis  II  is  the  "victorious 
Horus,  a  god  good  Hke  Re,  the  sacred  emanation  of  Ammon.  "^^  Augustus 
is  variously  styled  "god  of  gods, "  "god  Augustus, "  "savior  and  god. "^^ 
Some  of  the  Ptolemies  were  called  "manifest  gods"  and  the  Seleucids  bore 
such  names  as  "god"  and  "manifest  Dionysos. "^^ 

That  persons  thus  serving  the  pubKc  stood  especially  high  in  the 
estimation  of  the  heavenly  powers  was  indicated  by  wonders  and  signs. 
In  the  case  of  an  individual  who  owed  his  position  to  divine  appointment, 
these  attestations  were  produced  by  God  himself.  Swans  were  made  to 
sport  about  the  mother  at  the  birth  of  Apollonius,  and  a  thunderbolt, 
descending  from  the  sky,  rose  aloft  again  in  token  of  his  future  greatness; 
while  later  in  life  a  man  who  attempted  to  induce  him  to  incontinency 
died  suddenly  after  three  days.^^    The  birth  of  Augustus  was  foretold  to 

2«  Philostr.,  op.  cit.,  i.  4,  5.  '^  j^st.  Mart.,  Apol,  22. 

"Diog.  Laer.,  Plat.   1;  cf.  Plut.,  ^^  Plut.,  Is.  and  Os.,  39,  53  flf.,  61. 

Symp.,  viii.  i.  1.  3*  Cited  by  Meade,  Thrice  Greatest 

^*  Florus,  Epitome  of  Roman  Hist.,       Hermes,  I.  p.  63. 

i.  1.  35  Cited  by  Renouf,  op.  cit.,  p.  162. 

29  Diog.  Laer.,  Pythag.,  4.  38  cited    by    Case,  op.  cit.,  p.  213. 

30  Iambi.,  op.  cit.,  19.  37  jjji^^^  pp.  209-11. 

31  Epict.,  Disc,  i.  14.  2;  ii.  8.2.  38  Philostr.,  op.  cit.,  i.  4,  5,  9. 


8  DIVINE  MANIFESTATIONS  IN  NEW  TESTAMENT  TIMES 

his  mother  in  a  dream,  miracles  and  portents  both  preceded  and  followed 
it,  and  at  various  stages  of  his  later  career  wonders  attested  deity's 
approval  of  him.^^  On  one  occasion  the  voice  of  Jupiter  from  heaven 
was  heard  directing  the  actions  of  Epimenides  and  manifesting  the  divine 
pleasure.^^ 

Individuals  whose  uniqueness  was  due  not  so  much  to  appointment 
or  selection  as  to  inherent  personahty  delegated  by  deity  were  frequently 
able  to  perform  miracles  for  themselves.  Empedocles  sent  away  "a 
dead  woman  raised  to  Hfe, "  healed  the  sick,  and  purified  cities  of  plague; 
and  Epimenides  prophesied  and  was  never  seen  to  eat  food.^^  Vespasian 
healed  a  paralytic  and  restored  sight  to  the  blind.^^  Pythagoras  stilled 
storms  and  healed  the  sick.^  Apollonius  cured  various  maladies  and  cast 
out  demons.^    The  twelve  labors  of  Hercules  may  also  be  classed  here. 

The  Graeco-Romans  thus  anthropomorphized  their  gods  and  deified 
their  men.  The  test  of  deification  was  wholly  pragmatic.  Cicero  puts  it 
all  in  a  word  when  he  says  "  it  has  been  the  immemorial  custom  that  men 
who  have  done  important  service  to  the  pubHc  be  exalted  to  heaven.  "^ 
Deification  could  occur  after  an  individual's  death,  during  his  hfe,  or 
before  his  birth.  Ptolemy  I  and  his  wife  Bernice  were  both  made  gods 
after  their  death,  but  their  son  Philadelphus  was  deified  during  his  hfe; 
and  JuUus  Caesar  was  officially  deified  by  the  senate  after  his  death,  but 
certain  Greek  inscriptions  represent  him  during  his  life  as  "savior,"  "god 
manifest, "  and  "god  and  dictator  and  savior  of  the  world.  "^  Domitian 
durmg  his  life  was  addressed  as  "  Our  Lord  and  Our  God.  "^^  Each  man, 
according  to  the  Stoic,  was  an  incarnation  during  his  life  of  a  pre-existent 
logos,  while  Plutarch  held  that  Osiris  was  the  logos  manifest  on  earth. 

Among  the  Hebrews  also  supernatural  powers  manifested  themselves 
in  physical  form.  While  Satan  appeared  as  a  serpent  in  Eden,  such  mani- 
festations usually  occurred  in  the  form  of  men.  Yahweh  walks  and  talks 
with  Abraham,  washes  his  hands  and  feet,  partakes  of  a  substantial  meal 

39  Dion  Cass.,  Rom.  Hist.,  xlv.  1.  **  Philostr.,  op.  cit.,  iv.  24;  vi.  20, 

2;Suet.,  ^Mg.,  94.  70. 

"Diog.  Laer.,    Epimen.  11;    cf.              ^^  Nat.  of  the  Gods,  \i.  2^. 

idem,  Emped.  11.  ■*«  Evidence    cited    by    Case,    pp. 

*^  Idem,  Epimen.,  11.  209-13. 

*2  Tac,  Hist.  iv.  81.  *'  Suet.,  Dam.,  13;  cf.  Dion  Cass., 

"  Iambi.,  op.  cit.,  19.  op.  cit.,  Ixvii.  13. 


DIVINE  MANIFESTATIONS  IN  NEW  TESTAMENT  TIMES  9 

and  imparts  exclusive  information.'*^  He  refuses  Moses  a  sigKt-ef  his  face 
but  allows  him  a  glimpse  of  his  back.^^  "Moses  and  Aaron,  Nadab  and 
Abihu,  and  seventy  elders  .  .  .  saw  the  God  of  Israel  .  .  .  beheld 
Yahweh  and  did  eat  and  drink.  "^^  How  reahstically  such  appearances 
were  regarded  is  illustrated  by  the  belief  that  "  the  sons  of  God  saw  the 
daughters  of  men  that  they  were  fair  and  they  took  them  wives  of  all  that 
they  chose.  "^^  Josephus  in  relating  the  circumstance  says  "  many  angels 
of  God  companied  with  women.  "^^  Jacob  engaged  in  a  physical  en- 
counter with  such  a  being  and  sustained  a  severe  bodily  injury.^^ 

Not  only  did  the  Hebrews  and  Jews  thus  anthropomorphize  super- 
natural powers,  as  did  the  Greeks  and  Romans;  they  also  held,  as  did 
their  non-Hebraic  contemporaries,  that  certain  individuals  stood  in  a 
unique  relation  to  deity.  Prophets,  poets,  wise  men,  patriarchs,  leaders, 
and  warriors  were  especially  so  honored;  but  in  the  case  of  no  important 
personage  was  this  regard  more  marked  perhaps  than  in  that  of  the  ruler. 
The  Hebrews  explained  the  divine  functioning  of  their  great  men  in 
ways  similar  to  those  adopted  by  Hellenistic  peoples.  Yahweh  chose 
Noah,  Abraham,  Moses,  and  Joshua  to  play  their  respective  roles;  he 
raised  up  judges,^^  saviors,^^  priests,^^  shepherds  of  the  people,^^  prophets,^^ 
and  kings.^^  Samuel  the  priest  anointed  Saul  king  saying  "  Is  it  not  that 
Yahweh  hath  anointed  thee  prince  over  his  inheritance?"^^  Yahweh 
sent  David  to  Hebron  to  be  anointed  king,  and  Solomon  was  anointed 
king  by  Zadok  the  priest.®^  It  was  supposed  in  many  circles  that  God's 
care  for  his  people  was  soon  to  cuhninate  in  the  appointment  of  a  Messiah 
who  was  to  be,  according  to  one  view,  a  human  being  descended  either 
from  David^2  qj-  f  j.qj^  Levi,^^  an  actual  king,^^  a  priest,^^  a  prophet,^^  with 

*8  Gen.,  18;1.  ^9  /  Kgs.,  14:14;  Jer.,  23:5. 

49  Ex.,  33:23.  eo /5aw.,  10:1. 

60  Ex.,  24:9  £f.;  cf.  Gen.,  3:8;  Num.  "  //  Sam.,  2:1-4;  /  Kgs.,  1:30. 

12:5  ff.  ^^Isa.,9:7;  n-.l;  Enoch,  90. 

^^  Gen.,  6:2.  ^^  Test,    of    the    XII    Patriarchs: 

6Mw«.,  i.  3.  R.6:1-n;  L.,  8:14;    18;  Jud.,    24:1-3; 

"  Gen.,  32 :24.  Z).5 :10;  Jos.,  19 :5-9. 

"/w^g.,  2:16;  3:9,  15.  «* /^a.,  11:6,7. 

«5/6ji.,3:18.  «**  Test,  of  the  XII  Patriarchs:  L., 

"/5aw.,  2:35.  17:2,9. 

"Zec^.,  11:16.  66  76 j^.,  8:15. 

««^wo^,  2:11; /er.,  29:15. 


10  DIVINE  MANIFESTATIONS  IN  NEW  TESTAMENT  TIMES 

an  especial  endowment  of  the  spirit.^^  Some  expected  that  he  would  be 
sent  in  the  guise  of  a  suffering  servant.^^ 

Another  explanation  was  that  important  individuals  were  "sons  of 
God. "  "The  sons  of  Yahweh  took  unto  themselves  wives. "  Josephus 
says  these  "sons"  were  "angels."  The  Book  of  Enoch  names  Uriel, 
Raphael,  Raguel,  Michael,  Saraquel,  and  Gabriel  as  "sons  of  God," 
and  Job  places  Satan  among  them.^^  Philo  carries  on  this  conception  by 
making  the  logos  the  "first  born  of  God,"  and  takes  the  final  step  when 
he  insists  that  Isaac  was  "not  the  result  of  generation  but  the  shaping  of 
the  unbegotten, "  that  Samuel  was  born  of  a  human  mother  "who  became 
pregnant  after  receiving  divine  seed, "  that  Tamar  was  "pregnant  through 
divine  seed, "  and  that  Zipporah  was  "pregnant  by  no  mortal.  "^^ 

Not  only  could  such  individuals  be  divinely  generated,  but  various 
other  peculiar  features  might  attach  themselves  both  to  the  beginning 
and  the  end  of  life.  Melchizedek  was  "  without  father,  without  mother, 
without  genealogy,  having  neither  beginning  of  days  nor  end  of  Hfe.  "^^ 
Enoch  did  not  die,  but  "  God  took  him.  "^^  God  closed  EHsha's  career 
by  taking  him  to  heaven  on  a  whirlwind  in  a  chariot  of  fire.  "^^ 

Still  another  explanation  was  that  such  personages  were  incarnations 
of  pre-existent  supernatural  powers.  In  many  circles  it  was  thought 
that  the  coming  Messiah  was  to  be  of  such  an  origin.  He  was  to  be  a 
heavenly  "son  of  man,  "^^  hidden  and  kept  with  God  before  his  manifes- 
tation to  judge  men  and  angels,  and  slay  sinners. ^^  Expectation  of  the 
appearance  of  the  Messiah,  whatever  his  origin  was  supposed  to  be,  was 
intense  in  New  Testament  times,  as  the  query  of  John  the  Baptist^® 
shows,  and  from  time  to  time  he  was  recognized  in  the  person  of  various 
individuals,  as  Simon  the  Maccabee,^^  John  Hyrcanus,^^  John  the  Bap- 

«7/5a.,  ll:2;P5.o/5o/.,  15:23,  47;  ^^  £«ocA,  48:2;  59:27;  62:6. 

17:23-27,35,41,42,46;  Test,  oj the  XII  ''^  Ibid.,  42:6;  48:2;  46:1,  2;  59:27; 

Patriarchs:  /wrf.,  24:2.  62:2,  7;  IV.  Ez.,  12:32;  13:24,  52;  cf. 

«8  Isa.,  52:13:53:1,  11;  61:1-3.  Dan.,  7:13,  14. 

''Job.,  2:1.  7«  Mt.,  11:3;  Lk.,  7:19-29. 

70  Drummond,  Philo  Judaeus,  II.  "  /  Mace,  14:4  ff.;  Ps.  110. 

pp.  185  fif.;  for  references  to  Philo,  see  ^8  x^^i^    qJ    if^g    xil    Patriarchs: 

American  Journal  of   Theology,    1905,  L.,  8:14,  15;  17:2  &.;  Jud.,  24:  1-2;  on 

vol.  IX,  pp.  493  fE.  Maccabees  as  Messiahs  of  the  House 

''^  Heb.,  7:3;  cf.  Gen.,  14:18;  Ps.,  oi  Levi,  see  Cha-rles,  Religious  Develop- 

110.  ment  between  the  Old  and   New  Testa- 

"  Gen.,  5 :22;  cf .  Heb.,  1 1 :5.  ments,  pp.  78  ff . 

^»  II  Kgs.,  2:11,  12. 


DIVINE  MANIFESTATIONS  IN  NEW  TESTAMENT  TIMES  11 

tist/^  Theudas,^^  Vespasian,^^  Judas  of  Galilee,^^  Simon,^~S.tIironges,®* 
John  of  Gischala,^  and  Bar  Cochba  who  was  held  by  R.  Akiba  to  be 
"Kmg  Messiah,  "^^  was  called  on  his  coins  "Prince  of  Israel,  "^^  and  was 
regarded  as  a  worker  of  miracles. ^^ 

Deity  frequently  attested  his  appointees  by  wonders  and  signs  done 
in  behalf  of  or  through  them.  Thus  it  was  that  the  authority  of  Moses 
and  Aaron  was  estabHshed  before  the  Egyptians.^^  Approval  of  Elijah 
was  signified  by  the  sending  of  ravens  to  carry  him  food,^''  and  it  was 
through  Elijah  that  God  caused  the  jar  of  meal  to  waste  not  nor  the 
cruse  of  oil  to  fail."^  So  also  through  Joshua  were  the  sun  and  moon 
stayed  in  their  courses.  ^^  Working  by  means  of  Moses  Yahweh  caused 
the  waters  of  the  Red  Sea  to  go  back,  made  bitter  waters  sweet,  and 
brought  a  river  of  water  from  a  rock.^^  Luke  tells  us  that  in  New  Testa- 
ment times  a  vision  foretold  to  Zacharias  that  the  son  soon  to  be  bom 
to  him  was  to  enjoy  the  especial  recognition  of  deity. ^'^ 

While  deity  thus  worked  miracles  on  behalf  of  and  through  his  repre- 
sentatives, the  view  that  such  representatives  were  enabled  to  perform 
wonders  in  their  own  right  was  not  well  established.  Hebrew  thought  in 
this  respect  had  not  developed  as  far  as  it  had  among  the  Graeco-Romans. 
In  some  circles,  to  be  sure,  the  Messiah  to  come  on  the  clouds  was  to  be 
a  wonder-worker,  but  even  in  the  case  of  extreme  apocalyptic  Messian- 
ism,  it  was  chiefly  God  himself  from  whom  the  displays  of  power  were  to 
emanate.  This  is  only  another  way  of  saying  that  the  deification  of  men 
had  not  gone  as  far  among  the  Hebrews  as  it  had  among  their  Hellenistic 
contemporaries. 

While  Christians  of  the  New' Testament  period  looked  upon  indivi- 
duals prominent  in  the  Hfe  of  the  community,  such  as  Peter,  John,  Paul, 
as  standing  in  special  relation  to  deity  and  to  the  heavenly  world,  it  was 

''^  Jn.,  1:25.  ^Jerus.    Talmud:    Tannith,     IV. 

"Ad5,5:36f.  68  D. 

*^  Joseph.,  War,  vi.  5.  4;  cf,  Tac,  *^  Madden,  Coins  of  the  Jews,  pp. 

Hist.,  V.  13;  Suet.,  Vesp.,  4.  239,  244. 

*2  Joseph.,  Antt.,  xvii.  10.  3;  War,  ^sjerome,  adv.  Rufin.,  iii.  21,  ed. 

ii.  4.  1.  Vallarsi,  II.  559. 

"^'Id.,   Antt.,  xvii.    10.   6;  War,  ii.  »^  Ex.,  4:1  S.,  21,  30,  31;  17:8  £f. 

4.2.  9^1  Kgs.,  17  :IA-16. 

^*Id.,   Antt.,  xvii.  10.  7;  P^ar,ii.4.  ^Ubid. 

3.  92 /o^^.,  10:12-14. 

^'Id.,    War,   ii.    21.  1-2;  iv.  3.  9;  ^  £jc.,  14:21;  15:25;  17:5,  6. 

Life,  13.  ^*Lk.,l:ll&.,22. 


12  DIVINE  MANIFESTATIONS  IN  NEW  TESTAMENT  TIMES 

in  the  person  of  Jesus  that  their  experience  of  supernatural  manifestations 
cubninated. 

Certain  groups  of  Christians  saw  in  Jesus  the  appointed  sovereign 
of  the  new  heavenly  Kingdom  soon  to  be  estabHshed.  He  is  in  the  pre- 
sent *'both  Lord  and  Christ."  From  his  exalted  place  in  heaven  he  is 
pouring  out  the  Holy  Spirit  upon  the  earthly  nucleus  of  the  immanent 
celestial  state  for  its  comfort  and  guidance  until  such  time  as  he  shall 
come  upon  the  clouds  in  glory  with  the  holy  angels  to  enter  upon  his 
reign.  Thus  in  opposition  to  the  Lord  Caesar,  whether  deified  at  death 
or  regarded  as  deity  incarnate  during  Hfe,  and  his  temporal  kingdom, 
stood  the  Lord  Jesus,  now  at  the  right  hand  of  God  but  soon  to  be  mani- 
fested, and  his  eternal  kingdom;  and  just  as  the  visit  of  the  emperor  to  a 
community  was  a  parousia,^^  so  the  expected  return  of  Jesus  in  glory  was 
2i  parousia.^ 

Other  Christians  beheld  in  Jesus  a  divinely  sent  teacher  of  law,  ethics, 
and  religion;  and,  moreover,  they  experienced  in  him  an  actual  embodi- 
ment of  his  precepts.  This  phase  of  Jesus'  personahty  is  especially 
prominent  in  the  non-Markan  portions  of  Matthew  and  Luke.  As 
Moses  was  the  founder  of  the  old  ethics  and  religion,  so  Jesus  is  the  pro- 
mulgator of  the  new.  "  It  was  said  to  them  of  old  time  .  .  .  but  I  say 
unto  you  ..."  The  discourses  of  Jesus  are  presented  in  a  form  re- 
sembling, on  the  one  hand,  the  ancient  wisdom  literature  of  the  Jews,  and, 
on  the  other,  the  morahty-sermons  of  the  contemporary  Cynic-Stoic 
preachers.  ^^  In  his  life  he  practices  what  he  preaches,  eschewing  riches, 
helping  the  poor  and  outcast,  etc. 

Yet  other  Christians  regarded  Jesus  as  the  conqueror  of  Satan  and 
his  world  of  evil  spirits.  ^^  Satan  and  his  angels  dominate  the  present 
age,^^  masquerade  behind  heathen  idols,^^^  scheme  for  the  destruction  of 
Christians,^^^  and  produce  bodily  affliction,  sickness,  and  death.^"^  The 
final  overthrow  of  Satan  and  his  power  by  Christ  shall  put  an  end  to  these 

85  See  data,  Deissmann,  Licht  vom  ^*  /  Jn.  3:8, 

Osten,  pp.  26S-1 3,  Eng.  ti.  Light  from  ^^  Gal.,  1:4;    /    Cor.,    2:6,    8;    // 

the  Ancient  East,  pp.  372-78.  Cor.,  4:4;  6:1-5. 

»« Jesus   as   Sovereign   and   Lord:  i««  /    Cor.,    10:19  ff.;    cf.    6:15  £f. 

Acts,    2:33,   36;   Mk.,   8:38;    13:26;  /  ^oi  /  Cor,  7:5; // Cor,  2:11;  11:14; 

Thess.,    4:15-17;    cf.     Acts,    3:21;    /  12:7;  /  T^e^^.,  2:18;  3:5. 

Thess.,  1:10;  7  Cor.,  1:17.  "^  iifyfe.,9:17-29;  II  Cor.,  12:7  ff.;  / 

®' See,  for  example,  references  to  Cor.,  11:29-32. 
Socrates  in  Epict.,  Disc,  i.  4.  4;  9.  1,  5; 
ii.6.  2;iii.  1.4;  12. 4;  etc. 


DIVINE  MANIFESTATIONS  IN  NEW  TESTAMENT  TIMES  13 

affliction  s.^°^  The  struggle  for  supremacy  began  while  Jesus~was  on 
earth.  The  demons,  recognizing  his  superiority,  attempt  to  win  immuni- 
ty by  flattery  or  bravado.^^^  One  of  the  main  purposes  for  which  the 
disciples  are  sent  out  is  to  exercise  "authority  over  unclean  spirits. "^^^ 
Jesus  is  represented  as  initiating  his  campaign  against  Satan  and  his 
hosts  by  a  formal  encounter  with  the  chief  of  evil  spirits,  in  which  the 
latter  suffered  prehminary  defeat.^^  The  demons  appear  to  recognize 
that  their  final  overthrow  is  at  hand.  At  any  rate,  Jesus  seems  to  re- 
gard "Satan  fallen  as  lightning  from  heaven"  as  a  token  of  their  im- 
pending doom.^'^^ 

Other  Christians,  again,  experienced  in  Jesus  a  Redeemer  and  Savior, 
who,  having  conquered  hell,  and  having  taken  away  the  sting  of  death, 
brought  life  and  immortahty  to  Hght,  and  enabled  men  to  pass  from 
death  unto  life.^^^  The  authority  of  Jesus  to  deliver  from  death  was 
brought  about  in  various  ways:  1.  By  the  propitiation  of  a  vicarious 
death  which  reconciled  man  to  God.^^^  2.  By  the  cleansing  power  of 
his  sacred  blood  which  dehvered  men  from  the  demoniac  pollution  of  sin 
and  death."^  3.  By  the  power  of  his  own  death  and  resurrection  which 
deprived  the  Devil  and  his  angels  of  their  power  over  mankind.^^^ 
4.  By  inducing  by  his  presence  among  men  an  intellectual  reaction 
which  resulted  in  "  eternal  life  "  and  "  life  in  his  name."^^^ 

Christians,  when  they  came  to  explain  how  Jesus  was  enabled  to  per- 
form these  various  divine  functions,  adopted  differing  expedients.  One 
view  was  that  he  had  been  appointed  to  his  task  either  during  his  life^^^  or 
after  his  death."^  He  was  "a  man  approved  of  God  unto  you"  and 
"made  both  Lord  and  Christ. "^^^  Divine  sanction  was  indicated  by 
miracles  performed  through  him"^  or  in  his  behalf  .^^^  God  had  authenti- 
cated him  by  voicing  his  approval  from  heaven,  granting  him  the  gift 

i«3/  Cor.,    15:25  ff.;  cf.   Rev.,    19:  "o  ZTeft.,  9:11  ff.;  10:14,  22,  29. 

11-20.  ''^Heb.,  2:14;  Col.,   2:15;   1:13  f.; 

''^*Mk.,  3:11;  5:7.  IJn.,3:S. 

^"5  M)^.,  6:7;  3:14,  15;  cf.  Mf.,  10:1,  112/^.^  20:31. 

7,  8;  Lk.,  9:1,  2.  113  ^^s,  2:22,  30;  6:1. 

^'^  Mk.,    1:13;    Mt.,    4:1-11;    Lk.,  ^^^  Rom.,    1:4;  Phil.,  2:S-11;  Acts, 

4:1-13.  2:36;  3:13-15,  26. 

^'''  Lk.,  10:17.  115^^5,2:22,36. 

^08  Acts,  2:24,  27;  /  Cor.,  15:55  ff.;  ii«  Acts,  2:22. 

//  Jn.,  5:24;  /  Jn.,  3:14;  Heh.,  5:9;  ^^^  Mt.,   1:25;   2:12,    13,    16;   Mk., 

2:9,  10,  14,  15.  1:10,  11;  15:33,  38;  Lk.,  1:28;  3:30  ff. 

^''Rom.,  3:24  f.;  //  Cor.,  5:19  ff.; 
Gal.,  1:^',  3:13;  Heh.,  1:21. 


14  DIVINE  MANIFESTATIONS  IN  NEW  TESTAMENT  TIMES 

of  the  Holy  Spirit,  foretelling  his  career  in  prophecy,  giving  him  a  fore- 
runner, raising  him  from  the  dead,  and  transporting  him  to  heaven.^^* 
Another  type  of  explanation  was  that  Jesus  was  in  some  sense  of 
divine,  as  over  against  human,  origin.  This  phase  of  the  early  Chris- 
tians' task  of  estimating  the  functional  value  of  Jesus'  personality  ex- 
pressed itself  in  several  ways.  Some  held  that  he  had  been  divinely 
generated.  This  view  which  sought  to  explain  Jesus  on  the  ground  of 
metaphysical  generation  loaned  itself  readily  to  various  refinements. 
It  was  held,  for  example,  that  his  paternity  was  due  to  the  agency  of  the 
Holy  Spirit.^^^  Again,  the  agency  of  the  Holy  Spirit  is  lost  sight  of  and 
Jesus  is  designated  simply  as  6  vlos  rod  deov}^'^  Side  by  side  with  the 
notion  of  his  metaphysical  generation  by  a  divine  being  we  find  the  idea 
that  he  was  born  of  a  virgin.^^^  Others,  once  more,  failed  entirely  to  raise 
the  question  of  supernatural  paternity,  and  contented  themselves  with 
simply  postulating  for  him  a  divine,  as  over  against  a  human,  personaHty, 
without  raising  the  question  of  how  he  came  into  possession  of  it.^^^ 
And  still  others  held  that  he  was  a  pre-existent  heavenly  being  who  in- 
carnated himself  temporarily  in  the  flesh.  Thus  the  Fourth  Gospel 
identifies  him  with  the  logos,  who,  in  his  pre-incarnation  state,^23  existed 
where  God  is,  was  divine,  and  had  been  serving  as  agent  both  in  creation 
and  revelation,^^^  and  who,  at  a  point  in  time,  became  flesh.^^  The 
heavenly  beings  described  in  Col.  1:15-17,  Fhil.  2:5-11,  and  Heb.  1:26  ff. 
present  many  similarities  to  the  Johannine  view  of  the  logos.  The  term 
logos  also  appears  as  of  a  person  in  Rev.  19:13.  Plutarch  identified  the 
logos  with  Osiris,  the  Hermetic  Literature  with  Thoth,  and  certain  Greeks 
with  Mercury.  If  the  author  of  the  Fourth  Gospel  derived  his  logos 
doctrine  from  the  Stoics,  he  1)  transplanted  it  from  monistic  to  dualistic 
soil,  and  2)  particularized  it  by  incarnating  all  the  logos  in  one  person; 
if  from  Philo,  he  1)  definitely  personalized  it,  and  2)  incarnated  it. 
However  this  may  be,  as  the  logos  incarnate  in  the  flesh  Jesus  is  here  a 
pre-existent  deity. 

"«  ML,  1:10,  11,  22  ff.;  Mk.,  1:10,  "»  ML,  16:17. 

11;  2:5  ff.;  Acts,  2:25-27;  4:25-27;  8:32-  ^^i  j^f^^  1:18-23;  Lk.,  1:30-35. 

35;  I  Cor.,  15:3,  4;  ML,  3:1  £f.;  Mk.,  ^^^  ML,    8:29;    27:54;   Jn.,    21:31; 

1:1  ff.;  Lk.,  3:2  ff.;  Jn.,  1:6-8,  15,  20;  Acts,  9:20;  Rom.,  1:4;  GaL,  2:20;  Eph., 

Acts,  2:22,  24;  3:15;  Rom.,  1:4;  /  Cor.,  4:13;  Heb.,  4:14;  /  Jn.,  4:15. 
6:14;  //  Cor.,  4:14;  Eph.,  1:20;  Co/.,  2:  ^^  Jn.,  1:1;  ci.  I  Jn.,  1:1,2. 

12;   /    Thess.,  1:10;    Mk.,    16:19;   Lk.,  '^*  Jn.,  1:1,3,4,  5,9,  10. 

24:51;  Acts,  1:2.  ''' Jn.,  1:14;  ct.  I  Jn.,  1:2. 

"»M/.,  1:18-20;  L/fe.,  1:30-35. 


DIVINE  MANIFESTATIONS  IN  NEW  TESTAMENT  TIMES  15 

The  upshot  of  all  these  variations  of  the  general  view  that  Jesus  was 
of  divine  and  not  human  origin  is  to  endow  him  with  an  increment  dis- 
tinguishing him  in  kind  from  other  individuals;  and,  as  a  consequence, 
he  is  able  to  work  miracles  in  virtue  of  his  own  inherent  nature.  It  is 
natural,  therefore,  that  his  resurrection  should  be  looked  upon,  not  as  an 
act  of  God  on  his  behalf,  but  as  a  display  of  his  own  peculiar  power.  God 
does  not  raise  him;  Jesus  simply  rises y^^  It  is  worthy  of  note  that  in 
the  Fourth  Gospel,  where  the  divine  origin  and  nature  of  Jesus  are  put 
with  the  greatest  emphasis,  the  " signs''  which  are  to  beget. faith  are 
wrought,  not  by  God,  but  by  Jesus  himself. 

Christians  of  the  New  Testament  period  thus  saw  in  Jesus,  on  the  one 
hand,  an  anthropomorphized  deity,  and,  on  the  other,  an  individual 
standing  in  especially  close  relations  to  deity.  Between  these  two  ex- 
tremes the  deifying  process  worked  itself  out.  While  some  held  that  as 
a  man  chosen  for  a  special  work  he  enjoyed  unique  distinction  as  a  divine 
appointee,  others  held  that  his  personaHty  could  be  explained  only  on 
the  view  that  his  nature  was  divine  rather  than  human.  According  to 
this  view  he  was  a  supernatural,  not  a  natural,  being.  That  supernatural 
beings  should  make  their  appearance  in  bodily  form  among  men  was  a 
behef  widely  current  before,  during,  and  after  the  advent  of  Christianity. 
In  explaining  just  how  it  happened  that  Jesus  was  possessed  of  a  divine 
nature  Christians  adopted  varying  expedients.  Some  held  that  he  be- 
came a  deity  after  death,  some  that  he  became  one  during  hfe  or  that 
during  life  he  at  least  had  been  appointed  to  perform  a  divine  task,  others 
that  he  had  been  born  one,  and  still  others  that  he  had  been  a  deity  be- 
fore he  came. 

126  Jlf;^.,   8:31;   9:9  f.;     10:34;    Mt.       23;    20:19;    27:63!.;    Lk.,    9:22    says 
always  uses  passive,  e.g.,  16:21;  17:9,      "raised"  but  "rise"  in  18:33;  24:7. 


CHAPTER  III 

Manifestations  Without  Visible  Agents 

Many  circumstances,  situations,  and  events  were  regarded  by  the 
people  of  the  ancient  world  as  due  to  supernatural  power  operating  with- 
out the  medium  of  a  visible  agency.  The  result  of  the  activity  of  divine 
power  was  simply  felt  or  perceived.  Such  effects  may  be  considered 
in  relation  to  nature,  the  social  group,  and  the  individual,  in  so  far  as 
these  three  may  be  distinguished. 

Among  the  Hellenistic  peoples  the  view  comes  out  with  some  promi- 
nence. An  indication  that  supernatural  power  had  been  at  work  was 
seen  in  the  fact  that  the  world  exists.  In  an  early  Egyptian  inscription, 
deity,  presented  as  a  khnum  or  potter,  is  "creator  of  heaven  and  earth, 
the  lower  world,  water,  mountains,"  and  he  it  is  ''who  formed  the  male 
and  the  female  of  fowl  and  fish,  wild  beasts,  cattie,  and  creeping  things.  "^ 
Plutarch  represents  deity  as  "Father  of  the  world  .  .  .  and  also  maker 
of  it, "-  and  Hesiod  tells  us  that  Zeus  is  the  creator  of  men.^ 

Not  only  had  supernatural  power  thus  operated  in  the  past  to  bring 
the  universe  into  being;  it  continues  its  activity^  in  the  present  in  the  regu- 
lation of  creation.  Zeus  sends  the  seasons  and  provides  rain.^  He 
lightens,  pours  forth  haU  and  snow,  sends  the  whirlwind,  spreads  out  the 
temf>est,  and  sets  his  rainbow  in  the  clouds  as  a  sign  to  mortal  man.^ 
WTien  once  "a  mighty  water  swept  over  the  earth  .  .  .  the  craft  of 
Zeus  .  .  .  drew  off  the  flood. "®  The  increase  of  the  fields  is  due  to  the 
power  of  the  gods,^  who,  as  husbandmen,  grow  all  things  for  our  use.^ 
Demeter  "sent  up  the  grain  from  the  rich  glebe. "^  WTien  rain  lacked, 
sacrifices  were  made  to  Zeus  to  persuade  him  to  send  it.^*^  The  inscription 
on  an  altar  on  the  imperial  estate  of  Tembrion  represents  Apollo  as  one 
who  can  "make  your  fruits  grow  in  their  season.  "^ 

*  Cited,    Sayce,    Religion    of    the  ''  Sophocles,  Oed.  Tyr.  125  ff. 
Ancient  Egyptians^  pp.  136-7.                                *  Lucian,  Phalaris,  ii.  8. 

*  Platonic  Questions,  2.  »  Hymn  to  Demeter,  461-79,  Lang's 
»  Works  and  Days,  106-180.  trans.,  in  Homeric  Hymns,  p.  209. 

*  Ibid.,  563  ff.;  677  ff.  ^°  Pausanius,  Descr.  of  Greece,  ii.  25. 
'Homer,  //.,  x.  5-7;  xii.  252;  xvi.  "Cited,     Ramsay,     Pauline    and 

365;  xi.  27.  Other  Studies,  2nd.  ed.,  p.  120. 

*  Pindar,  Olymp.  Odes,  ix.  49-51. 


DIVINE  MANIFESTATIONS  IN  NEW  TESTAMENT  TIMES  17 

The  operation  of  divine  power  was  like\\ase  noticeable  in  connection 
with  the  life  of  the  state  and  the  social  group.  The  Romans  beheld  its 
effect  in  the  salvation  of  the  state  in  the  Second  Punic  War.  Hannibal 
was  advancing  upon  Rome.  The  defeated  and  scattered  Romans  could 
offer  no  resistance.  The  city  lay  within  the  power  of  the  Carthaginian. 
Suddenly,  when  but  a  short  distance  from  the  capitol,  Hannibal  and  his 
army  turned  aside,  and  the  state  was  saved — due,  as  the  historian  Florus 
tells  us,  to  "  the  influence  of  deities  unfavorable  to  Carthage.  "^  In  the 
same  passage  the  historian  relates  that  swarms  of  bees  and  a  severe 
earthquake  which  warned  the  Romans  of  impending  diasaster  were  the 
result  of  the  activity  of  the  gods.  The  yoimg  Cvtus  tells  his  father  that 
God  will  feed  his  army,  and  on  another  occasion,  starting  to  the  relief  of 
his  uncle  who  is  threatened  by  the  Assyrians,  he  assures  his  soldiers  that 
by  God's  help  victory  is  to  attend  them  on  the  field.^  After  the  diaster 
at  Salamis,  the  defeated  Persians,  starving,  suffering  from  thirst,  and  at 
the  mercy  of  hostile  natives,  were  perishing  by  scores  in  a  deadly  marsh 
from  which  which  they  could  not  escape,  "  but  on  that  very  night  deity 
sent  a  frost  out  of  season  and  froze  the  whole  stream  of  the  Strymon, " 
enabling  them  to  extricate  themselves,  whereupon  "those  who  never 
beUeved  in  the  gods  before,  addressed  them  in  prayers.""  Because 
deity  produced  large  profits  for  the  Samian  merchants,  they  sent  a 
thank-offering  to  the  temple  of  Juno  at  Samos;^  and  because  Apollo 
and  Poseidon  enabled  the  Corc>Teans  to  make  an  especially  large  catch 
of  fish,  they  gave  one-tenth  of  the  haul  to  the  deities.^^  In  Tenedos  the 
gods  produced  a  prolific  yield  of  celery,  and  in  Apollonia  and  Myrrhina 
excellent  crops  of  com.^^  Apollo  continually  exercised  his  power  in 
protecting  the  gold  mines  of  the  Siphnians  from  encroachments  by  the 
sea,  and  in  making  them  productive,  and  for  this  reason  the  owners  gave 
to  the  deity  one-tenth  of  their  gains.^^  Rouse,  in  Greek  Votive  Offerings^ 
especially  pages  56  following,  gives  a  hst  of  more  than  a  dozen  callings 
and  professions  in  which  groups  experienced  the  continuous  operation 
of  divine  power  without  the  medium  of  any  agency. 

The  sphere  of  individual  interests  thus  influenced  was  no  less  exten- 
sive than  that  of  the  group  or  the  state.    Material  blessings  were  due 

^-  Epitome,  ii.  6.  "  Paxisanius,  ilrid.,  x.  9.  3. 

^  Xenophon,  Cyropaedia,  i.  6.  18;  ^^  Plutarch,  Pythian  ResponseSy  12 

5.  14.  and  16. 

**  Aeschylus,  Persians,  497  ff.  "  Pausanius,  ibid.,  x.  ii.  2. 

"  Herodotus,  iv.  152. 


18  DIVINE  MANIFESTATIONS  IN  NEW  TESTAMENT  TIMES 

to  the  operation  of  divine  power.  The  Maxims  of  Ptahhotep,  dating 
from  the  time  of  the  pyramids  and  contained  in  the  Prisse  Papyrus^ 
speak  of  "  the  field  which  the  great  god  hath  given  thee  to  till"  and  state 
that  ''thy  treasure  hath  grown  to  thee  through  the  gift  of  the  god."^^ 
The  gods  render  the  increase  of  a  farmer's  acres,^^  and  Zeus  gives  men 
riches,  wealth,  plenty,  and  also  proverty.^^  The  courtesan  Rhodopis, 
for  the  reason  that  Apollo  had  made  her  wealthy  in  the  practice  of  her 
profession,  made  a  gift  to  the  god  at  Delphi.^^  Inscriptions  at  various 
shrines,  large  numbers  of  which  are  cited  by  Rouse  in  the  work  just  men- 
tioned, show  us  that  numerous  individuals,  such  as  fishermen,  breeders, 
physicians,  builders,  potters,  tanners,  cooks,  farmers,  sailors,  shipwrights, 
butchers,  and  washerwomen  recognized  the  operation  of  supernatural 
power  in  their  affairs. 

Valor,  courage,  and  wisdom,  as  well  as  physical  strength,  were  in  this 
way  granted  by  deity.^^  Pallas  Athene,  for  example,  gave  might  and 
courage  to  Diomedes.^"^  Similarly  "valor  and  wisdom"  came  to  Hercu- 
les, for  "how  else  might  the  hand  of  Hercules  have  wielded  his  club  against 
the  trident  when  at  Pylos  Poseidon  took  his  stand  and  pressed  him 
hard  .  .  .  P"^^  In  recognition  of  power  coming  from  deity,  ApoUonius 
of  Tyana  prays:  "O  ye  gods,  give  me  that  which  I  ought  to  have";^  so 
also  prays  Ion  in  Plato's  Alcibeides:  "O  Jupiter,  give  us  good  things 
whether  we  ask  them  or  no";  and  Livy  tells  us  that  Romulus  prayed: 
"O  father  of  gods  and  men,  chase  the  enemies  from  hence,  take  away 
terror  from  the  Romans.  "^^  The  power  of  deity  in  the  affairs  of  the  in- 
dividual was  likewise  noticeable  in  signs  and  portents  which  granted  in- 
formation of  various  sorts.  Thus  the  dreams  foretelling  the  future  great- 
ness of  Augustus  were  due  to  deity's  activity,  and  it  was  also  the  power 
of  invisible  deity  which  transported  him,  while  yet  a  babe,  from  his  cradle 
"  in  a  low  place  "  to  the  "  top  of  a  high  tower.  "^^  Deity  in  a  similar  man- 
ner produced  the  voice  at  the  birth  of  Osiris,  which  announced  from  heav- 
en that  "  the  Lord  of  all  things  is  now  born.  "^^  Thus  also  he  sent  the 
thunder  and  Hghtning  which  foretold  that  the  first  mihtary  expedition  of 
the  youthful  Cyrus  was  to  be  a  success.^^ 

^'  Cited,  Renouf,  Hibbert  Lectures,  ^  Pindar,  ibid. 

1879,  pp.  74,  100.  26  philostratus.  Life  of  ApoUonius 

20  Sophocles,  ibid.,  129  £f.  of  Tyana,  1.8. 

21  Hesoid,  ibid.,  635  ff.  27  Uvy,  1.  12. 

22  Herodotus,  ii.  135.  28  Suet.,  Aug.,  94. 

23  Pindar,  ibid.,  27-31.  29  Plutarch,  I  sis  and  Osiris,  12. 
2*  Homer,  ibid.,  v.  i.  ^°  Xenophon,  ibid.,  i.  6.  1. 


DIVINE  MANIFESTATIONS  IN  NEW  TESTAMENT  TIMES  19 

Deity's  power  in  the  individual  life  was  further  observablejnprotec- 
tion  from  harm.  Pericles  dedicated  a  statue  to  Athena  Hygieia  for  saving 
the  life  of  a  workman  who  fell  from  a  scaffold,^^  a  woman  vowed  her 
breast-band  to  deity  for  safe  delivery  in  childbirth/^  and  Bernice  dedi- 
cated her  hair  to  the  gods  for  her  husband  Ptohney's  safety  in  war.^^ 

The  power  of  deity  was  moreover  to  be  seen  in  the  moral  government 
of  the  world  and  men.  "Righteous  judgments  are  best  from  Zeus"  who 
protects  those  "who  do  not  overstep  aught  of  justice. "  To  such  as  these 
the  supernatural  powers  do  not  "ordain  troublous  wars,"  nor  do  they 
allow  "famine  or  ruin  to  company  with  men  who  judge  the  right." 
"In  blessings  they  flourish. "  "But  they  to  whom  evil,  wrong,  and  hard 
deeds  are  a  care,  to  them  .  .  .  Zeus  .  .  .  destines  punishment  .  .  . 
on  them  from  heaven  the  son  of  Cronus  is  wont  to  bring  great  calamity, 
famine,  and  pestilence  ...  so  the  people  waste  away.  Neither  do 
women  bear  children;  and  houses  come  to  naught,  by  the  counsels  of 
mighty  Zeus  ...  he  destroys  their  wide  army,  or  lays  low  their  walls, 
or  in  the  deep  punishes  their  ships  .  .  .  Heed  justice  .  .  .  forget  vio- 
lence .  .  .  this  law  hath  the  son  of  Cronus  ordained  for  men:  for  fishes 
.  .  .  beasts.  .  .  fowls  to  eat  each  other;  but  to  man  he  hath  given  jus- 
tice .  .  .  if  a  man  choose  .  .  .  what  is  just,  to  him  Zeus  giveth  felicity 
.  .  .  Badness  you  may  easily  choose  .  .  .  level  is  the  path;  and  right 
dwells  near, "  but  "  long  and  steep  and  rugged  is  the  way  to  it. "  Against 
the  wicked  "is  Zeus  wroth,  and  at  the  last,  in  requital  for  wrong  deeds, 
lays  on  him  a  bitter  penalty.  "^^  On  one  occasion,  according  to  Apollo- 
dorus  (111.98),  Zeus  came  to  earth  in  the  hkeness  of  a  workingman  to 
test  the  moral  worth  of  Lycaon  and  his  fifty  sons  who  excelled  all  others 
in  unpiety.  A  man  may  not  fight  against  the  will  of  Zeus,  though  one  be 
very  strong,  for  he  is  stronger  far;  he  will  be  no  helper  of  Hars,  and  he 
metes  out  punishment  for  all  crimes.^^  A  concrete  example  of  such 
punishment  for  sin  is  the  case  of  Pheretuna  whose  body  the  gods  caused 
to  be  eaten  with  worms  while  she  was  yet  alive,  because  of  the  wrongs 
she  had  committed.^^ 

The  Hebrews,  like  the  Greeks,  experienced  the  activity  of  invisible 
deity  in  various  connections.     God's  power  brought  into  being  the  heav- 

'^  Plutarch,  Pmc/e^,  13.  ^4  Hesoid,     ibid.,     34fif.;     224  fiF.; 

32  Theocritus,  xxvii.  54.  273  ff.;  328  flf. 

33  Catallus,  Coma  Bernices;  Eudo-              ^s  jiomer,  //.,   viii.    143;  iv.   235; 
cia,  No.  218.  Ody.,  i.  379;  ii.  144. 

»»  Herodotus,  iv.  205. 


20  DIVINE  MANIFESTATIONS  IN  NEW  TESTAMENT  TIMES 

ens  and  the  earth.  "  Thou  hast  made  all  things,  and  over  all  things  hast 
thou  dominion."^'  Not  only  was  God's  power  apparent  in  the  fact  that 
the  universe  exists,  but  it  was  also  evident  in  its  various  operations. 
God  moves  the  planets,  sends  the  seasons,  water,  clouds,  dew,  rain,  fruit: 
"He  that  liveth  forever  hath  done  all  this  .  .  .  everything  is  done  as 
God  hath  ordained.  "^^  God  sent  a  flood  of  waters  to  destroy  the  earth, 
and  set  his  bow  in  the  clouds  to  be  a  sign  unto  men.  He  caused  the  thun- 
der and  lightning  at  Sinai,  and  sent  down  fire  from  heaven  to  consume 
Sodom  and  Gomorrah. 

In  numerous  experiences  of  the  Hebrew  group  or  state  the  effects  of 
divine  power  were  also  perceived.  He  raised  up  Moses  to  deliver  the 
nation  and  exercised  a  controlling  influence  upon  it  throughout  its  his- 
tory.^^  He  sent  the  plagues  upon  the  Egyptians,  provided  for  the  Israel- 
ites quails  and  manna  in  the  wilderness,  opened  the  earth  to  swallow 
Dathan  and  his  company,  and  sent  fire  down  from  heaven  to  destroy  the 
two  hundred  and  fifty  rebellious  Israelitish  princes.^^  When  the  Kishon 
inundated  the  neighboring  marshes  and  overwhelmed  Sisera  and  his 
host,  the  circumstance  was  seen  to  be  the  result  of  the  immediate  action 
of  deity. ^^  David,  upon  hearing  "  the  sound  of  marching  in  the  tops  of 
the  mulberry  trees, "  knew  that  Yahweh  had  gone  out  before  him  to  over- 
throw the  Phihstines,  and,  with  the  invisible  assistance  of  his  God,  he 
"smote  the  Philistines  from  Geba  until  thou  come  to  Gezer."^^  Judas 
Maccabeus  with  a  small  army  defeated  his  numerous  Syrian  enemies,  be- 
cause "with  the  God  of  heaven  it  is  all  one,  to  deliver  with  a  great  multi- 
tude or  a  small  company  .  .  .  strength  cometh  from  heaven.  "^^  The 
power  of  God  smote  Antiochus  for  persecuting  the  Jews  and  he  died.^ 
But  not  always  was  God's  power  exercised  to  protect  Israel.  He  may 
pour  out  upon  the  nation  destruction,  famine,  pestilence.^^ 

In  the  sphere  of  individual  life  the  power  of  unseen  supernatural  forces 
was  no  less  noticeable.  To  Solomon  deity  granted  wisdom  and  strength,^® 
and  to  David  he  gave  victory  wherever  he  went.^'    The  Book  of  Tohit  is 

^"^  Enoch,  1.9;  Gen.,  \:\;  Pss.,  19:1;  " /«Jge5,  4:7;  5:19. 

104;    24;    33:6;    90:2;    Joseph.,    Antt.  *^  II  Sam.,  5:22  S. 

i.  1.  *' I  Mace,  3:17  S. 

38  Enoch,  i.  2-5;  Ps.,  104:27  ff.  *«  Ibid.,  6:13  ff. 

39  P5.  106:7  ff.  ^  Ezek.  5:5-7:27. 

"iVww.    16:31,    35;    Deut.,    11:6;  *«  /   Kings,   3:12;   II  Chron.,    1:1. 

Ps.,  106:17.  "  II  Sam.,S:6,  14. 


DIVINE  MANIFESTATIONS  IN  NEW  TESTAMENT  TIMES  21 

an  admirable  illustration  of  the  view  that  divine  power  produced^cffects 
in  individual  lives.  Deity  guided  the  young  Tobias  on  his  quest  for 
treasure,  gave  him  wisdom  and  cunning,  and  provided  means  for  the 
preservation  of  his  life. 

Punishment  and  judgment  come  upon  the  individual  through  the 
power  of  deity.  "O  Lord,"  prayed  Tobias, ''.  .  .  thou  art  judge  of  all 
the  earth  .  .  .  thou  art  righteous  in  all  that  cometh  upon  me  .  .  . 
reward  me  not  according  to  my  sin  and  wickedness.  "^^  The  patriarch 
Reuben  says  that  for  wrongdoing  deity  ''smote  me  in  the  loins  for  seven 
months  with  a  plague  and  would  have  destroyed  me.  '"'^  Sometimes  the 
vengeance  of  supernatural  powers  was  thought  of  as  having  a  wider  than 
an  individual  scope.  One  view  was  that  deity  in  exercising  judgment 
should  limit  his  activity  to  the  nation.  Thus  God  says,  "  therefore  will 
I  judge  you,  O  house  of  Israel.  "^^  Another  view  was  that  it  should 
extend  to  all  nations.  God  shall  judge  the  earth,  scatter  the  wicked, 
strike  through  kings  in  his  wrath,  subdue  the  nations,  and  judge  among 
them.^i 

Christians,  in  common  with  the  Hebrews  and  the  Graeco-Romans, 
experience  in  their  affairs  the  operation  of  invisible  divine  power.  In  the 
creation  of  heaven  and  earth,  and  all  that  in  them  is,  they  beheld  one  of 
its  effects.^2  Another  was  noticeable  in  the  government  and  control  of 
the  universe.  Divine  power  caused  the  sun  to  rise  and  the  rain  to  fall,^ 
and  kept  unruly  angels  and  devils  in  bonds  as  a  measure  for  insuring  its 
stability  and  safety .^^ 

In  the  world  thus  brought  into  being  and  controlled  by  the  operation 
of  his  power,  deity  estabhshed  the  Christian  group,  having  chosen  it 
"from  the  beginning "^^  out  of  the  "poor  as  to  the  world, "^^  to  be  "an 
elect  race,  a  royal  priesthood,  a  holy  nation,  a  people  for  God's  own  posses- 
sion," the  estabhshment  of  the  community  having  been  brought  about 
in  such  fashion  that  even  Jews  suspect  there  may  have  been  something 
supernatural  in  it.^^    To  the  Christians  themselves,  various  circum- 

*^Tobit,ch.3.  wjf/.,  5:45. 

*»  Test,  of  Reuben,  I  7.  »«  Jude,  6. 

'°Ezek.,  IS :30S.  ^  II  Thess.y2:13. 

"P55.,  110:5,  6;  94:2;  92:9;  47:3;               ^^Jas.,2:5. 

72:11; /^a.,  2:4.  "/  p^/.^  2:9;  cf.  Rev.   1:6;  5:10; 

'^Acts,     4:14;     Mk.,  13:19;     cf.       20:6;  ^d^,  3:25;  5:39. 
Heb.,  1:2;  Jn.,U13. 


22  DIVINE  MANIFESTATIONS  IN  NEW  TESTAMENT  TIMES 

stances  in  the  life  of  the  group  demonstrated  that  divine  power  was 
operative.  Deity  "shall  supply  every  need  .  .  .  according  to  his 
riches.  "^^  The  effects  were  especially  apparent  in  the  fact  that  God  had 
sent  his  only  begotten  Son  to  be  a  Savior.^^  Likewise  it  was  held  that 
deity  had  sent  fire  from  heaven  upon  Sodom  and  Gomorrah  as  a  punish 
ment  for  wrongdoing,  and  that  his  wrath  was  being  manifested  from 
heaven  against  all  ungodliness  and  unrighteousness  of  men.^*^  Moreover, 
the  signs  and  portents  attending  the  end  of  the  age  were  to  be  a  result  of 
divine  activity .^^ 

In  the  sphere  of  individual  Christian  life  invisible  divine  power  was  no 
less  operative.  At  any  moment  God  could  have  sent  more  than  twelve 
legions  of  angels  to  save  Jesus,  and  at  his  crucifixion  the  divine  dis- 
pleasure was  manifested  by  the  covering  of  the  earth  with  darkness,  by 
the  rending  of  the  temple  veil  from  top  to  bottom,  and  by  the  production 
of  a  severe  earthquake.  Supernatural  power  was  again  apparent  in  the 
raising  of  Jesus  from  the  dead.^^  j^  a  similar  manner  deity  opened  the 
iron  gate  to  allow  Peter's  escape  from  prison,  and  sent  the  earthquake 
which  released  Paul  and  Silas  from  the  jail  at  Philippi.^^  Thus  also  did 
divine  power  save  the  shipload  of  people  of  whom  Paul  was  one.®*  Wis- 
dom and  other  blessings  also  came  from  deity.®^ 

Sometimes,  however,  the  power  of  deity  affected  the  individual 
disastrously.  Thus  for  wrongdoing  he  smote  Ananias  and  Saphira,  and 
sent  worms  to  devour  Herod's  vitals  while  he  was  yet  alive.®®  He 
resisteth  the  proud  and  pours  out  miseries  upon  the  rich.®^ 

Extra — New  Testament  early  Christian  literature  is  likewise  filled  with 
examples  of  the  operation  of  invisible  superantural  powers.  One  or  two 
may  be  cited.  In  the  Gospel  of  Peter  we  are  told  that  "  the  stone  which 
was  put  at  the  door  (of  Jesus'  sepulchre)  rolled  of  itself  and  made  away" 
(ch.  9).  The  Martyrdom  of  Poly  carp  represents  the  aged  saint  as  receiv- 
ing heavenly  strength  to  enable  him  "without  being  secured  by  nails  to 
remain  immovable  in  the  fire"  (ch.  3).    The  Acts  of  St.  Eugenia  tell  us 

^^  Phil,  4:19.  4:10;    Rom.,    1:4;    4:24;   /    Cor.,    6:4; 

"/«.,  3:16;/ /w.,  3:1.  Eph.,  1:20;  I  Thess.,  1:10. 
«"  Jude,  7;  Rom.,  1:18.  "  Acts,  12:10;  16:20. 

"  Mk.,  13:14-27;  etc.  ^*  Ibid.,  27:24. 

''ML,  26:53;  Mk.,  15:33,  38;  ML,  ^  Jas.,  1:5;  4:6,  10. 

27:45,  51;  Lk.,  23:44;  Acts,  2:24;  3:15;  ««  Acts,  12:23;  /  Pet.,  5:5. 

«7/a5.,  5:1. 


DIVINE  MANIFESTATIONS  IN  NEW  TESTAMENT  TIMES  23 

that,  when  this  Christian  worthy  was  unjustly  charged  with  crime,  "a 
sudden  fire  came  down  from  heaven  and  consumed  her  accusers"  (ch.  16), 
and  that,  on  another  occasion,  when  her  heathen  enemies  attempted  to 
compel  her  to  sacrifice  to  Artemis,  "forthwith  the  image  of  Artemis  fell 
down  and  was  broken  into  such  fine  fragments  that  the  dust  thereof  was 
not  apparent"  (ch.  28;  Conybeare's  trans.,  pp.  178,  186). 


CHAPTER  IV 
Apparitions 

A  third  method  by  which  the  people  of  the  ancient  world  came  into 
contact  with  supernatural  powers  was  through  the  medium  of  apparitions. 
Under  the  term  apparitions  are  here  included  such  phenomena  as  dreams, 
visions,  trances,  and  "appearances"  in  general. 

Apparitions,  as  a  mode  of  divine  manifestation,  differ  from  physical 
appearances  in  that  supernatural  beings  do  not  come  upon  the  scene  in 
the  flesh,  and  from  displays  of  the  power  of  invisible  deity  in  that,  while 
superior  forces  are  not  present  in  person,  agencies  are  nevertheless  pro- 
vided as  their  representatives. 

The  belief  that  apparitions  were  the  product  of  divine  activity  was 
firmly  rooted  in  the  Hellenistic  world.  The  "  dream  too  is  from  Zeus, " 
says  Homer,  and  elsewhere  he  tells  us  of  a  lying  one  which  the  Father  of 
Gods  and  Men  sent  to  Agamemnon.^  Apollo,  "the  god  of  Delphi,"  on 
one  occasion,  "sent  dreams  to  warn"  Phalaris,  the  tyrant  of  Agrigentum, 
of  a  conspiracy  against  his  Hfe.^ 

The  view  that  dreams,  visions,  and  similar  occurrences  served  as 
media  for  the  transmission  of  information  from  gods  to  men  was  equally 
well  estabHshed.  While  the  illustrations  which  follow  bear  out  the  truth 
of  this  statement,  it  may  be  well,  before  proceeding,  to  cite  one  or  two 
references  in  which  the  opinion  is  definitely  expressed.  In  Plato's 
Republic  Socrates  is  made  to  maintain  that  the  dreams  of  a  good  man  are 
prophetic,  and  in  the  Timaeus  Plato  himself  ascribes  to  dreams  a  similar 
character.^  Aristotle,  in  the  work  called  Prophecy  in  Dreams,  holds  that 
the  view  "  that  there  is  a  divination  concerning  some  things  in  dreams  is 
not  incredible." 

Prophetic  visions  and  dreams  were  experienced  both  by  individuals 
and  by  groups  of  individuals.  Diongenes  Laertius  relates  of  Socrates 
that  "someone  appeared  to  him  in  a  dream  and  said:  'On  the  third  day 

1  //.,  i.  63;  ii.  5  ff.  »  Republic,  571  C  fit.;  Timaeus,  46, 

*  Lucian,  Phalaris,  i.  4.  47. 


DIVINE  MANIFESTATIONS  IN  NEW  TESTAMENT  TIMES  25 

you'll  come  to  lovely  Phthia';  and  so  he  (Socrates)  said  to  Aeschines: 
'In  three  days  I  shall  die.'  "^  The  Egyptian  Thothmes  IV,  having 
fallen  asleep,  while  on  the  chase,  at  the  foot  of  the  Great  Sphynx,  heard 
the  voice  of  deity  in  a  dream,  urging  him  to  repair  the  god's  temple  which 
was  threatened  with  ruin,  and  telling  him  that  he  would  one  day  occupy 
the  throne.^  In  a  similar  manner  the  goddess  Ishtar  in  a  dream  directed 
Assur-bani-pal  to  cross  a  certain  river  in  the  prosecution  of  one  of  his 
campaigns  and  informed  him  that  he  was  to  win  a  victory.^  While 
Vespasian  was  in  the  temple  of  Serapis  he  had  a  vision  of  BasiKdes 
"advancing  behind  him."  Vespasian  investigated,  and  discovered  that 
Basihdes  at  the  moment  was  detained  by  illness  "no  less  than  four  score 
miles  distant."  Upon  this  intelhgence,  "he  concluded  .  .  .  that  the 
gods  had  favored  him  with  a  preternatural  vision  ...  in  favor  of  his 
future  reign.  "^  At  the  birth  of  the  emperor  Augustus  dreams  and  visions 
played  an  important  part.  Two  of  them  were  granted  to  his  mother, 
Atia,  one  of  which  "signified  that  the  infant  had  been  engendered  by 
Apollo,"  while  the  other  conveyed  an  indication  of  the  extent  of  his 
future  power,  inasmuch  as  "  she  saw  .  .  .  her  womb  lifted  up  to  heaven 
heaven  and  spreading  out  over  all  the  earth."  Octavius,  the  babe's 
father,  was  equally  favored.  "On  the  same  night  Octavius  .  .  . 
dreamed  that  the  sun  arose  from  her  his  wife's  vagina.  "^ 

More  than  one  person  sometimes  saw  the  same  apparition.  Accord- 
ing to  Dion  Cassius,  the  following  spectacle  was  beheld  not  only  by 
individuals  and  isolated  groups,  but  by  the  occupants  of  entire  districts. 
"A  spirit,"  says  the  historian,  "declaring  that  he  was  the  famous  Alex- 
ander of  Macedon,  wearing  his  apparel  and  all  his  apparatus,  started  from 
the  regions  near  the  Ister.  ...  It  traveled  through  Thrace  and  Asia, 
reveling  in  company  with  four  hundred  male  attendants,  who  were 
equipped  with  thyrsi  and  fawn  skins,  and  did  no  harm.  The  fact  was 
admitted  by  all  those  who  lived  in  Thrace  at  the  time  that  lodgings  and 
all  provisions  for  it  were  provided  at  public  expense.  And  no  one  dared 
to  oppose  it,  either  by  word  or  by  deed — no  governor,  no  soldier,  no 
procurator,  no  heads  of  provinces — but  it  proceeded  as  if  in  a  dayUght  pro- 

*  Diogenes  Laertius,  ii.  16.  ^  Tacitus,  Hist.,  v.  82. 

*  Leemans,  Papyri  Graeci,  Leyden,  *  Dion  Cassius,  xliv.  1,  2;  Sueton- 
1838,  p.  122.                                                     ius,  Augustus,  94. 

«  Reference  cited,  Hastings,  Diet.  , 

of    Rel.    and    Ethics,    vol.    V,    article 
"  Dreams  and  Sleep, "  p.  33. 


26  DIVINE  MANIFESTATIONS  IN  NEW  TESTAMENT  TIMES 

cession  prescribed  by  proclamation,  to  the  confines  of  Bithynia.  Leaving 
that  point,  it  approached  the  Chalcedonian  land,  and  there,  after  per- 
forming some  sacred  rite  by  night,  and  burying  a  wooden  horse,  it 
vanished. "  It  is  clear,  remarks  Dion  Cassius,  that  this  vision  foretold  the 
accession  to  the  throne  of  the  Emperor  Alexander,  who  succeeded  Elaga- 
balus  in  the  year  222  a.d.® 

The  narrative  just  quoted  from  Dion  Cassius  is  a  description,  not  only 
of  an  apparition  simultaneously  observed  by  groups  of  people  in  widely 
separated  locahties,  but  also  of  the  visible  manifestation  of  an  individual 
after  his  death.  Such  post-mortem  appearances  were  by  no  means  un- 
usual. Herodotus  relates  that  Aristeas,  a  poet  of  Proconnesus,  appeared 
after  death,  wrote  poetry,  and  was  seen  by  various  persons  at  different 
times  during  a  period  of  years. ^°  Numerous  Greeks  and  Romans  likewise 
saw  the  arisen  Aesculapius.  Origen  is  an  interesting  witness  to  the 
resurrection  appearances  of  both  these  individuals.  In  the  work  Contra 
Celsum,  iii.  24-26,  he  occupies  himself  with  refuting  Celsus'  objections  to 
the  resurrection  of  Jesus.  Origen  argues  that  since  the  Greeks  and 
Romans  hold  that  Aesculapius  and  Aristeas  have  arisen.  Christians  ought 
to  have  the  similar  privilege  of  beheving  in  the  resurrection  of  Jesus.  In 
part  the  Christian  writer  says:  "When  it  is  said  of  Aesculapius  that  a 
great  number  of  Greeks  and  barbarians  acknowledge  that  they  have  fre- 
quently seen,  and  still  see,  no  mere  phantom,  but  Aesculapius  himself, 
heahng  and  doing  good,  and  foretelHng  the  future,  Celsus  requires  us  to 
beheve  this,  and  finds  no  fault  with  the  believers  of  Jesus  when  we  express 
our  belief  in  such  stories;  but  when  we  give  our  assent  to  the  disciples," 
who  were  witnesses  of  Jesus'  resurrection,  "we  are  called  a  set  of  'silly' 
individuals. " 

Apparitions  frequently  mediated  important  information  to  individuals 
and  to  groups  in  time  of  stress  and  crisis.  Thus  Lucian  informs  us  that 
"at  the  time  of  the  great  plague"  at  Athens,  a  vision  of  the  Scythian 
Toxaris  transmitted  to  "the  wife  of  Architeles  the  Areopagite"  the 
knowledge  that  "  the  plague  would  cease  if  they  would  sprinkle  their  back 
streets  with  wine."  "The  Athenians,"  continues  Lucian,  "attended  to 
his  instructions  and  .  .  .  the  plague  troubled  them  no  more.  "^^  Caesar, 
while  serving  as  quaestor  in  Spain,  saw  a  statue  of  Alexander  the  Great, 
and  "sighed  deeply,  as  if  weary  of  his  sluggish  life,  for  having  performed 
no  memorable  actions  at  an  age  when  Alexander  had  already  conquered 

">  Dion  Cassius,  Ixxix.  18.       "  Herodotus,  iv.  14,  15.        "  Lucian,  Scythian,  2. 


DIVINE  MANIFESTATIONS  IN  NEW  TESTAMENT  TIMES  27 

the  world.  He  .  .  .  sued  for  his  discharge,  with  the  view  of  embracing 
the  first  opportunity  ...  in  The  City  of  entering  upon  a  more  exalted 
career.  In  the  stillness  of  the  night  following  he  dreamed  that  he  lay 
with  his  own  mother  .  .  .  the  interpreters  expounded  it  as  an  omen  that 
he  should  possess  universal  empire,  for  the  mother  .  .  .  was  the  earth, 
the  common  parent  of  mankind.  "^^  Another  illustration  of  the  receipt  of 
information  when  badly  needed  is  given  by  Plutarch.  "  Marius,  finding 
himself  hard  put  to  it  in  the  Cimbrian  war,  had  it  revealed  to  him  in  a 
dream  that  he  should  overcome  his  enemies  if  he  would  but  sacrifice  his 
daughter.  He  did  it,  preferring  the  common  safety  before  any  private 
bond  of  nature,  and  got  the  victory.  "^^ 

Apparitions  also  played  a  part  in  the  sphere  of  reHgion.  "  Ptohnaeus 
Soter  saw  in  a  dream  the  colossus  of  Pluto  ...  at  Sinope,  although  he 
knew  it  not,  nor  had  ever  seen  it,  calling  on  him  to  convey  it  speedily 
away  to  Alexandria.  ...  He  .  .  .  sent  Soteles  and  Bacchus  thither, 
who  .  .  .  not  without  the  help  of  divine  providence,  stole  it  away  and 
brought  it  to  Alexandria.  "^^  Even  such  a  trivial  matter  as  directing  an 
author  to  write  a  book  was  not  overlooked  by  deity.  It  is  reported  that 
Phny  the  Elder  for  some  time  had  debated  whether  or  not  to  compose  a 
history  of  the  wars  of  the  Romans  in  Germany,  and  that  he  was  finally 
instructed  in  a  dream  to  undertake  the  task.^^ 

Apparitions  among  the  Hebrews  served  in  the  main  the  same  ends  as 
they  did  among  the  Hellenistic  peoples.  Little  distinction  seems  to  have 
been  made  between  dreams  and  visions  as  media  for  the  transmission 
of  knowledge.  In  Numbers  12:6  ff.  the  two  are  coupled  together  as 
channels  by  which  deity  reveals  himself:  "I  Yahweh  will  make  myself 
known  to  him  in  a  vision,  I  will  speak  with  him  in  a  dream. "  The  two 
are  also  mentioned  together  in  the  following  passage,  which  likewise  calls 
attention  to  their  office  of  conveying  information:  "God  speaketh  .  .  . 
in  a  dream,  in  a  vision  of  the  night  ...  he  openeth  the  ears  of  men  and 
sealeth  their  instruction.  "^^ 

Philo,  while  he  might  be  classed  as  a  representative  of  the  Hellenistic 
point  of  view,  is  nevertheless  at  one  with  the  Hebrews  in  making  no 
distinction  between  dreams  and  visions.  In  his  treatise  On  Dreams 
Being  Sent  from  God  he  argues  that  "appearances"  of  various  sorts  are 
due  to  divine  activity.     He  finds  in  phenomena  of  this  kind  three  classes. 

^2  Suetonius,  Julius  Caesar,  7.  "  Id.,  Isis  and  Osiris,  28. 

^3  Plutarch,  Parallels  between  Ro-  ^  Pliny,  Epistles,  iii.  5.  4. 

mans  and  Greeks,  20.  i«  Job,  33 :  14- 16. 


28  DIVINE  MANIFESTATIONS  IN  NEW  TESTAMENT  TIMES 

The  first  class  consists  of  such  occurrences  as  the  one  described  in  Genesis 
17:1,  where ''the  Lord  appeared  unto  Abraham  and  said  unto  him.  .  .  ." 
Such  manifestations  need  no  interpreter  for  the  reason  that  the  informa- 
tion is  directly  given.  Typical  of  Philo's  second  class  is  Jacob's  dream 
of  the  ladder  in  Genesis  28:12  ff.  Experiences  of  this  nature  demand 
more  interpretation  than  the  preceding,  and  yet  any  man  who  is  suf- 
sufficiently  "acute "  can  arrive  at  the  meaning.  The  third  class  is  repre- 
sented by  Joseph's  dreams  of  the  sheaves  and  the  planets  in  Genesis  37 :7  ff . 
These  can  be  elucidated  only  by  skilled  interpretation.^^ 

The  Hebrew  view  that  information  was  mediated  by  dreams  and 
visions  is  clearly  brought  out  in  /  Samuel  28 :4-6.  The  Phihstines  were 
gathered  together  against  Saul,  "and  when  Saul  saw  the  host  of  the 
Phihstines,  he  was  afraid  and  his  heart  trembled  greatly.  And  when  he 
enquired  of  Yahweh,  Yahweh  answered  him  not,  neither  by  dreams,  nor 
by  Urim,  nor  by  prophets. "  Dreams  sometimes  inspired  terror,  and 
sometimes  might  bring  lying  information.^^ 

Appearances  of  various  sorts  played  prominent  parts  in  the  careers 
of  many  Old  Testament  individuals.  Through  an  apparition  Abimalech 
was  informed  that  Sarah  was  Abraham's  wife  and  not  his  sister,  and  a 
dream  to  Jacob  near  Padan-Aram  told  him  that  "  the  land  whereon  thou 
liest,  to  thee  will  I  give  it  and  to  thy  seed. "  A  Httle  later  in  his  life 
Jacob  was  directed  in  a  similar  manner  to  take  a  journey  into  his  native 
country.  Laban  was  likewise  requested  to  refrain  from  speaking  to 
Jacob.  The  youthful  Joseph's  future  was  forecast  for  him  in  two  dreams. 
A  vision  of  a  barley-cake  overturning  a  Midianite  tent  gave  Gideon  badly 
needed  knowledge  and  encouragement  at  a  crisis  in  his  life.  Important 
information  came  to  Solomon  in  a  dream.  Zechariah's  vision  of  the 
horses,  and  Ezekiel's  vision  of  the  dry  bones  were  both  prophetic  in 
character.  Appearances  of  different  sorts  convey  varying  items  of  in- 
formation to  Pharoah,  to  his  butler  and  baker,  to  Nebuchadnezzar,  to 
Daniel,  and  to  Moses.^^ 

Josephus  relates  that,  while  he  was  debating  whether  or  not  to  espouse 
the  cause  of  the  Romans  against  his  own  countrymen,  "  a  certain  person  " 
appeared  to  him  in  a  dream,  allayed  his  apprehensions,  indicated  which 

^Mi.  1;  Younge's  ed.,  vol.  2,  pp.  24;  37:6-11;  Judg.,  7:13;  /  Kgs.,  3:5 

344-5.  cf.  9:3;  Zech.,    1:7  ff.;  Ezek.,  37:1  ff. 

«/o6,    7:14;    4:13;    Zech.,    10:2,  Gew.,  41:1-8;  40:5;  I>aM.,  2:1;  4:10  ff. 

Deut,,  13:1-5;  Jer.,  23:25  ff.,  32.  2;19;  7:1;  Ex.,  3:2  ff. 

"Gew.,    20:3  ff.;    28:8;    31:10  ff., 


DIVINE  MANIFESTATIONS  IN  NEW  TESTAMENT  TIMES  29 

course  he  should  take,  and  guaranteed  his  future  success  and  happiness. 
The  same  author  also  tells  us  that  the  high  priest,  on  the  occasion  of  the 
approach  of  Alexander  the  Great  to  Jerusalem,  was  instructed  by  God  in 
a  dream  as  to  the  manner  in  which  the  conqueror  should  be  received;  that 
a  dream  to  Hyrcanus  acquainted  him  with  the  success  which  was  to  attend 
his  future  career;  and  that  Joseph,  in  interpreting  the  prophetic  dream 
of  Pharoah,  manifested  ability  of  no  mean  kind.^^ 

In  the  Testaments  of  the  XII  Patriarchs  visions  or  dreams  conveying 
information  are  granted  to  Levi,  Jacob,  Judah,  Naphtali,  and  Joseph.^^ 
Chapters  83-90  of  the  Book  of  Enoch  are  almost  entirely  devoted  by  the 
author  to  Enoch's  narration  to  his  son  Methuselah  of  "all  my  visions 
which  I  have  seen,  recounting  them  before  thee. " 

The  same  apparition  appears  sometimes  to  have  been  experienced  by 
more  than  one  person.  In  the  Wisdom  of  Solomon,  17:3-10,  the  persecu- 
tors of  Israel  as  a  class  are  "  sore  troubled  by  spectral  forms  .  .  .  sounds 
rushing  down  rang  around  them,  and  phantoms  appeared,  cheerless,  with 
unsmihng  faces. "  Saul  and  two  of  his  servants  seem  simultaneously  to 
behold  the  prophet  Samuel  arisen  from  the  dead.^^  In  New  Testament 
times  certain  groups  regarded  Jesus  during  his  lifetime  as  a  dead  person 
returned  from  the  grave  in  visible  form.  Luke  informs  us  that  one  group 
held  him  to  be  the  recently  beheaded  John  the  Baptist,  that  others 
thought  Elijah  had  reappeared  in  him,  and  that  still  others  were  of  the 
opinions  that  one  of  the  old  prophets  had  arisen  from  the  dead.^^ 

According  to  Baruch,  55 :3,  God  had  given  to  the  angel  Ramiel  especial 
charge  of  prophetic  dreams  and  visions. 

Christians  of  the  New  Testament  period,  in  common  with  their 
Graeco-Roman  and  Jewish  contemporaries,  obtained  supernatural  in- 
formation through  apparitions  and  dreams. 

Such  phenomena  operated  largely  in  revealing  matters  of  importance 
in  the  lives  of  individuals.  By  means  of  a  vision  Zacharias,  the  father 
of  John  the  Baptist,  was  informed  that  his  wife  should  bear  a  son  who  was 
to  ''be  great  in  the  sight  of  the  Lord,"  and  who  was  to  "be  filled  with 
the  Holy  Spirit. "  It  was  further  pointed  out  that  his  activity  should 
result  in  the  turning  of  "many  of  the  children  of  Israel"  to  "the  Lord 

^ojosephus,     Life,    ed.    Whiston,  dah,  3:10  Q.]  Naphtali,  5:1  S.;  Joseph 

p.  21;  War,  iii.  8.  3;  Antt.,  xi.  8.  4;  xiii.  19:1  ff. 
12;ii.5.4.  22  /  ^^w.,  28:6  ff. 

''Levi,  2:5  ff.;  Jacob,  9:3  Q.:  Ju-  ^  Lk.,9:1-9. 


30  DIVINE  MANIFESTATIONS  IN  NEW  TESTAMENT  TIMES 

their  God,"  for  the  purpose  of  making  "ready  for  the  Lord  a  people 
prepared  for  him."  An  angel  who  bore  the  name  Gabriel  played  an 
important  part  in  the  mediation  of  the  information,  and  stated  that "  from 
the  presence  of  God"  **I  was  sent  to  bring  thee  these  good  tidings. "^^ 

A  dream  likewise  brought  to  Joseph  the  father  of  Jesus  the  knowledge 
that  "  that  which  is  conceived  in  her  (Mary)  is  of  the  Holy  Spirit.  And 
she  shall  bring  forth  a  son  and  thou  shalt  call  his  name  Jesus;  for  it  is 
he  that  shall  save  his  people  from  their  sins.  "^^  Luke  records  a  dream  of 
similar  import  to  the  mother.  As  in  the  case  of  the  vision  to  Zacharias, 
an  angel  named  Gabriel  acted  as  spokesman.  Mary  was  told  that  she 
shall  conceive,  and  bring  forth  a  son  whose  name  is  to  be  Jesus.  "He 
shall  be  great,  and  shall  be  called  the  son  of  the  Most  High:  and  the 
Lord  God  shall  give  unto  him  the  throne  of  his  father  David:  and  he  shall 
reign  over  the  house  of  Jacob  forever;  and  of  his  kingdom  there  shall  be 
no  end. "  Respecting  the  paternity  of  the  child,  she  was  told  that  "The 
Holy  Spirit  shall  come  upon  thee,  and  the  power  of  the  Most  High  shall 
overshadow  thee:  wherefore  also  the  holy  thing  which  is  begotten  shall 
be  called  the  Son  of  God.  "^^ 

Various  other  information  bearing  upon  the  life  of  Jesus  was  trans- 
mitted in  dreams.  The  advisabihty  of  fleeing  into  Egypt  in  behalf  of  the 
child's  safety  was  thus  urged  upon  Joseph.  In  the  same  way  the  father 
was  informed  that  the  time  is  ripe  for  the  return  of  the  family  from 
Egypt  to  Palestine.  Similarly  Joseph  was  advised  to  avoid  Judea  and 
to  take  up  his  residence  in  Nazareth  of  Galilee. 

Members  of  Jesus'  immediate  family  were  not  alone  in  the  receipt 
through  dreams  of  information  bearing  upon  his  life.  The  magi  were 
instructed  in  a  dream  not  to  return  to  Herod  but  to  depart  "into  their 
own  country  another  way, "  and  some  time  later  Pilate's  wife  was  told 
in  a  dream  that  Jesus  was  being  wrongfully  persecuted.^^ 

Groups  and  companies  of  people,  as  well  as  individuals,  sometimes 
beheld  the  same  phenomenon.  On  one  occasion  "Peter  and  James  and 
John"  in  "a  high  mountain  apart  by  themselves"  beheld  Jesus  "trans- 
figured before  them."  "His  garments  became  glistering,  exceeding 
white,  so  as  no  fuller  on  earth  can  whiten  them.  And  there  appeared 
unto  them  Elijah  with  Moses:  and  they  were  talking  with  Jesus  .  .  . 
and  there  came  a  voice  out  of  the  cloud,  This  is  my  beloved  Son:  hear 

^*  Lk.,  1:8-23.  ^  Lk.,  1:26-38. 

26  ML,  1:20,  21.  27  j^t.,  2:12,  13,  19,  22;  27:19. 


DIVINE  MANIFESTATIONS  IN  NEW  TESTAMENT  TIMES  31 

ye  him."  With  this  account  of  the  occurrence  as  related  By~Mark, 
Matthew  substantially  agrees;  but  to  the  items  of  information  gained  by 
the  disciples  at  the  time  Luke  adds  the  additional  one  of  ''the  decease 
which  he  was  about  to  accomplish  at  Jerusalem,  "^s  There  is  httle  doubt 
that  the  three  disciples  gained  as  a  result  of  this  experience  a  knowledge 
of  the  exalted  character  of  Jesus. 

Apparitions  of  the  risen  Jesus  were  seen  simultaneously  soon  after 
his  death  by  various  individuals  and  groups  in  seemingly  widely  separated 
districts.  In  I  Corinthians  15:5-8  Paul  tells  us  that  first  "he  appeared 
to  Cephas;  then  to  the  twelve;  then  he  appeared  to  above  five  hundred 
brethren  at  once,  of  whom  the  greater  part  remain;  then  he  appeared  to 
James;  then  to  all  the  apostles;  and  last  of  all  .  .  .  he  appeared  to  me 
also."  Mark  16:9-14  records  similar  appearances  to  Mary  Magdalen, 
to  "two  of  them"  "in  another  form,"  and  to  "the  eleven  themselves  as 
they  sat  at  meat " ;  but  little  clue  is  furnished  as  to  their  locations.  Mat- 
thew 28:7,  16-20  tells  of  an  appearance  to  the  eleven  "in  Galilee,"  and 
Luke  24:15-30,  33,  34  relates  that  appearances  occurred  to  Cleopas  and 
one  other,  to  Simon,  and  to  a  group  in  or  near  Jerusalem. 

The  message  conveyed  to  these  Christians  by  the  apparitions  of  the 
resurrected  Jesus  was  not  necessarily  the  assurance  of  their  own  resurrec- 
tion from  the  dead;  it  may  in  fact  be  doubted  whether  .they  expected  to 
die.  What  these  appearances  estabhshed  was  more  probably  the  fact 
that  Jesus,  now  exalted  to  heaven  whence  he  exercises  lordship  over  the 
new  community,  is  in  a  position  to  come  in  power  as  Messiah  and  set 
up  his  Kingdom.  Many  Christians  of  the  period  expected  to  see  the 
kingdom  established  during  their  lifetime  and  to  become  members  of  it 
when  it  came.^^ 

In  times  of  stress  and  difficulty  apparitions  frequently  played  an 
important  part.  It  was  by  means  of  an  "appearance"  that  a  solution 
was  mediated  to  Peter  when  he  stood  face  to  face  with  the  problem 
whether,  and  if  so  on  what  basis,  gentiles  should  be  admitted  into  the 
Christian  fellowship.  Meditating  upon  the  matter,  Peter  was  "upon 
the  housetop"  awaiting  his  dinner,  when  he  "fell  into  a  trance"  and 
beheld  "  the  heaven  opened,  and  a  certain  vessel  descending  .  ,  .  where- 
in were  all  manner  of  fourfooted  beasts  and  creeping  things  of  earth  and 
birds  of  heaven. "     "Rise,  Peter,  kill  and  eat, "  said  a  voice  to  him,  but 

2«irife.,  9:2-13;  Mt.,  17:1-13;  Lk.,  2^  Jc/^,  2:24,  32,  33,  36;  3:20. 

9:28,36. 


32  DRTNE  MANIFESTATIONS  IN  NEW  TESTAMENT  TIMES 

Peter  demurred  on  the  ground  of  ceremonial  purity.  "And  a  voice 
came  imto  him  again  a  second  time,  What  God  hath  cleansed,  make 
thou  not  common."  In  the  same  crisis  the  centurion  Cornelius  was 
instructed  in  a  vision  to  cooperate  with  Peter  in  working  out  the 
problem.^ 

Reference  in  Paul's  own  words  has  already  been  made  to  an  experience 
in  which  he  beheld  the  risen  Jesus.  There  is  some  question  whether  the 
apostle  here  meant  the  circumstance  on  the  Damascus  Road,  an  account 
of  which  is  given  in  Acts  9:3-9,  or  some  other  (cf.  Gal.  1 :16, 17).  However 
this  may  be,  the  vision  which  looms  so  largely  in  Paul's  conversion  was 
not  the  only  apparition  which  he  saw;  and  while  it  imdoubtedly  marked 
a  turning-point  in  his  career,  the  others  rendered  service  equal  in  kind 
and  in  importance.  One  such  occurrence  is  described  in  Acts  16:6-10. 
"A  vision  appeared  to  Paul  in  the  night:  There  was  a  man  of  Macedonia 
standing,  beseeching  him,  and  saying,  Come  over  into  Macedonia  and 
help  us."  At  the  time  the  vision  app>eared,  Paul,  according  to  the 
narrative,  was  debating  in  which  direction  his  further  activities  should 
lead  him.  On  another  occasion,  when  Corinthian  Jews  "opposed  them- 
selves and  blasphemed, "  "  the  Lord  said  to  Paul  in  the  night  by  a  vision. 
Be  not  afriad,  but  speak,  and  hold  not  thy  peace:  for  I  am  with  thee,  and 
no  man  shall  set  on  thee  to  harm  thee:  for  I  have  much  people  in  this 
city."'^  Again,  on  the  voyage  to  Rome,  when  shipwreck  threatened, 
there  stood  by  Paul  in  the  night  "an  angel  .  .  .  saying  fear  not,  Paul; 
thou  must  stand  before  Caesar:  and  lo,  God  hath  granted  thee  all  them 
that  sail  with  thee.  "^ 

Paul  himself  has  recorded  for  us  several  other  vision  experiences  which 
he  imderwent.  In  Galatians  2:2  he  relates  that  on  one  occasion  he  went 
up  to  Jersusalem  "by  revelation. "  While  there  is  doubt  as  to  the  inter- 
pretation of  the  quoted  phrase,  it  is  not  unreasonable  to  hold  that  the 
journey  was  urged  upon  him  in  a  way  similar  to  that  by  which  he  was 
persuaded  to  pass  from  Asia  into  Europe.  Language  which  the  apostle 
employs  in  //  Corinthians  12:1-10  seems  fairly  to  imply,  not  only  that 
"app)earances"  and  visions  of  revelation  were  frequent  in  his  life,  but 
that  their  number  and  character  were  such  that  there  was  danger  of  his 
being  " exhalted  overmuch  "  by  them.  The  "  thorn  in  the  flesh, "  he  tells 
us,  was  given  him  to  minister  to  his  himaility.  The  passage  in  question 
appears  to  contain  accoimts  of  two  of  these  experiences.    In  one,  he  was 

»•  Acts,  10:1  ff .  w  Acts,  27 :22-25. 

«^c/5, 18:5-1  L 


DIVINE  MANIFESTATIONS  IN  NEW  TESTAMENT  TIMES  33 

"caught  up  to  the  third  heaven,"  and  in  the  other  he  was  "caught  up 
into  Paradise,  and  heard  unspeakable  words  which  it  is  not  lawful  for  a 
man  to  utter. "  It  is  possible  that  the  content  of  the  gospel  which  Paul 
preached  was  granted  to  him  in  some  such  experience.  "For  I  make 
known  to  you,  brethren,  as  touching  the  gospel  which  was  preached  by 
me,  that  it  is  not  after  man;  for  neitlier  did  I  receive  it  from  man,  nor  was 
I  taught  it,  but  it  came  to  me  through  revelation  of  Jesus  Christ.  "^ 

Before  passing  to  another  topic,  mention  should  be  made  of  the 
Apocalypse.  In  structure,  the  book  consists  of  the  narration  of  a  series 
of  vision  experiences,  calUng  to  mind  the  form  followed  in  the  relation  of 
the  dreams  and  visions  in  the  Book  of  Enoch  and  in  the  Testaments  of  the 
XII  Patriarchs -y  while,  in  content,  the  volume  professes  to  reveal  for  the 
benefit  of  Christians  the  course  of  the  world  to  the  end  of  the  age. 

»Ga/.,  1:11, 12. 


CHAPTER  V 

Divine  Possession 

Highly  wrought  or  unusual  bodily  and  mental  states  were  regarded 
by  the  peoples  of  the  Mediterranean  world  as  due  to  supernatural  forces 
acting  directly  upon  the  individual. 

Sometimes  these  powers  were  thought  of  as  remote  and  transcendent, 
and  as  influencing  the  individual  in  a  more  or  less  distant  and  detached 
manner,  as  has  been  pointed  out  in  Chapter  III.  Sometimes,  on  the 
other  hand,  the  relation  between  the  individual  and  the  agency  operating 
upon  him  was  of  a  much  closer  kind,  and  was  held  to  be  rather  intimate 
and  immanent  in  nature.  When  this  latter  state  of  affairs  obtained,  the 
propinquity  between  gods  and  men  was  of  such  a  sort,  and  the  gods 
operated  so  directly,  that  the  subject  could  be  said  to  be  possessed  by 
deity. 

But  it  must  be  borne  in  mind  that  the  ancients  made  little  distinction 
between  mental  and  bodily  conditions  which  were  produced  by  remote 
powers  and  those  which  were  brought  about  by  forces  nearer  at  hand. 
For  the  purposes  of  the  classification  and  presentation  of  material,  how- 
ever, a  Hne  of  demarcation  must  be  drawn;  and  a  convenient  point  of 
division  appears  to  be  where  the  transcendence  of  superior  powers 
merges  into  their  immanence.  Yet  much  of  the  material  to  be  dealt 
with  could  be  classed  properly  on  either  side. 

The  theme  of  the  present  chapter  therefore  is  that  phase  of  divine 
manifestations  in  which  certain  physical  and  psychic  conditions  proved 
the  individual  to  be  in  such  close  relation  with  supernatural  powers  that 
it  was  possible  to  describe  him  as  being  possessed  by  them. 

The  Greeks  and  Romans  held  that  spiritual  beings  which  could  come 
into  such  relations  with  men  occupied  the  regions  of  space  between  earth 
and  heaven.  Pythagoras  claimed  that  "the  upper  air"  contained 
nothing  which  was  not  "immortal  and  on  that  account  divine  .  .  . 
that  the  sun,  and  the  moon,  and  the  stars  were  all  gods  .  .  .  that  the 
whole  air  is  full  of  souls  .  .  .  daemons,  and  heroes  .  .  .  "^  Livy  des- 
cribes these  beings  as  minores  diis  et  majores  hominihusP-    Plato  regards 

*  Diog.  Laer.,  viii.  19.  ^  Livy,  viii.  20. 


DIVINE  MANIFESTATIONS  IN  NEW  TESTAMENT  TIMES  35 

them  as  intermediate  agencies  between  gods  and  men.  They  are  of 
airy  substance.  Their  function  is  to  serve  as  ''reporters  and  carriers 
from  men  to  gods  and  again  from  gods  to  men. "  Every  man  has  one 
attending  him  during  Kfe  and  after  death.  To  each  demon  is  allotted 
his  own  sphere  of  operation,  and  he  watches  over  his  charge  like  a  shep- 
herd over  his  flock.^  The  same  notion  is  expressed  in  the  famous  frag- 
ment of  Menander  (550  K) :  ''By  every  man  at  birth  a  good  demon  takes 
his  stand,  to  initiate  him  into  the  mysteries  of  life. "  "There  are  many 
who  have  a  craven  soul,  but  a  good  demon, "  says  Theognis,  and  Pindar 
states  that "  the  mighty  purpose  of  Zeus  directs  the  demon  of  those  whom 
he  loves. "^  A  classic  expression  of  the  view  is  found  in  Hesiod.  "De- 
mons "  are  "  kindly,  earth-haunting,  guardians  of  mortal  men,  who  .  . 
watch  both  decisions  of  justice  and  harsh  deeds,  going  to  and  fro  every- 
where over  the  earth,  having  wrapped  themselves  in  mist,  givers  of 
riches  ...  on  the  earth  are  thrice  ten  thousand  immortals,  Zeus' 
watchers  over  men,  who  .  .  .  watch  just  judgments  and  daring  acts, 
clad  in  misty  darkness  and  haunting  everywhere  over  the  earth.  "^ 
Plutarch  probably  gives  a  summary  of  much  of  the  thought  of  the  first 
century  respecting  these  spiritual  agencies  when  he  says:  "Xenocrates 
.  .  .  thinks  there  are  in  the  air  that  environs  us  about  certain  great  and 
mighty  natures,  but  withal  morose  and  tetrical  ones  .  .  .  the  beneficent 
ones  Hesiod  styles  holy  demons  and  guardians  of  mankind,  and  Plato 
calls  this  sort  the  interpreting  and  ministering  kind  ...  in  a  middle 
place  between  gods  and  men  .  .  .  carrymg  up  prayers  .  .  .  and  bring- 
ing prophecies  and  .  .  .  good  things  back.  "^ 

Familiarity  with  beings  like  these  became  so  great  that  they  were 
known  by  name.  One  called  Kafxia  fed  on  men's  flesh.''  'Ei^taXrr/s  or 
'ExtdXrr/s  troubled  persons  with  nightmares.^  Children  who  refused  to 
obey  their  parents  were  punished  by  AX^tro),  Mopjucb,  'AkkcI)  and  Mo/t)- 
fjLo\vK€Lo,  while  still  others  in  the  same  class  were  'OvoaKeXls,  'OvokoAtj,  and 
'OvoKoiXos.^  The  character  of  'AXao-rop  and  his  tribe  was  so  well  known 
that  it  was  immediately  recognized  that  a  certain  evil  deed  could  have 

^Symp.   202   E;   Statesm.   271   D,  ^  I  sis  and  Osiris,  16. 

Ill  E;  Rep.  617  D;  Phaei.  107  E,  108  ^  Aristoph.,  Pax,  758. 

B,  113  D.  ^U.,  Vesp.,  1037;  Strat.  19. 

*Theog.  161;    Find.   Pylh.  Od.,  v.  »  For  refs.  see  Liddell  and  Scott, 
122.                                                                 Lex.,  under  each. 

5  Hesiod,   Wks.  and  Days,   122  ff.; 
251  ff. 


36  DIVINE  MANIFESTATIONS  IN  NEW  TESTAMENT  TIMES 

been  committed  by  none  others  than  they.^°  "Einrovaa  was  especially 
well  known,  and  might  come  upon  one  in  the  most  unexpected  places. 
Sometimes  she  was  identified  with  Hecate.  On  one  occasion  Apol- 
lonius  of  Tyana  met  her  in  the  Caucasus  mountains,  while  he  was  on  his 
way  to  India,  and,  realizing  who  she  was,  scared  her  away  with  a  loud 
shout.i^ 

Actual  contact  between  individuals  and  the  spirits  hovering  near 
them  came  about  in  two  ways.  Little  distinction  of  course  between  the 
two  was  made  by  the  thought  of  the  time,  for  people  were  concerned  not  so 
much  with  method  as  with  result;  and  yet,  while  the  ancients  were  pri- 
marily interested  in  the  effects  spirits  produced  in  men,  it  must  be  re- 
membered that  they  were  thoroughly  conscious  of  the  fact  that  the  state 
described  as  possession  could  be  brought  about  in  either  one  of  two  ways. 
The  spirit  could  operate  upon  the  man  either  from  within  or  from  with- 
out. In  both  cases  the  results  were  the  same.  The  condition  was 
variously  described.  The  possessed  individual  was  sometimes  said  to  be 
deofiavrjs,  deo(p6prjTos,  or  deocpopos}^  A  very  usual  designation  was  evdeos. 
Sophocles  speaks  of  evdeoL  ywoLKes  {Antig.  964),  Aeschylus  of  one  evd€os 
"Apet  (Theb.  497),  and  Euripides  mentions  a  person  who  was  evdeos  k 
Uapos  (Hipp.  141). 

When  a  man  was  entheos  as  a  result  of  the  operation  upon  him  of  a 
supernatural  power  from  without,  the  contact  between  him  and  the 
spirit  is  often  spoken  of  in  realistic  and  physical  terms.  In  the  Odyssey  the 
Harpies  come  near  enough  to  Odysseus  to  tear  his  flesh  with  their  beaks 
(xiv.  371).  In  the  Bacchae  of  Euripides,  the  god  Bacchus,  although  in- 
visible to  others,  is  so  -close  to  the  possessed  individual  that  the  latter 
can  say  the  deity  is  Trap'  e/xot  (line  502).  "By  every  man,"  says  the 
fragment  of  Menander  quoted  above,  "at  birth  a  good  demon  takes  his 
stand.  ..."  The  verb  dpTra^w  is  employed  in  a  number  of  instances  to 
indicate  how  supernatural  powers  seize  upon  or  catch  away  persons  or 
things.^^  Apuleius  in  the  Metamorphoses  undoubtedly  reflects  the  popu- 
lar thought  of  the  time  when  he  relates  how  two  spiritual  agencies, 
Panthia  and  Meroe,  laid  violent  hands  upon  Aristomenes  and  his  com- 

"Aeschines,     Persae    351;    Soph,  1140,  1150;  also  see  Liddell  and  Scott 

Track.,  1235.  under  each. 

^^Aristoph.,  Ran.   293;  id.,  Fragm.  ^^  Nonnus,     Dionysica,     ix.     301: 

426;  Lucian,  Eudocia  147;  Philos.,  Life  apirafievov  Alouv<tov;  Dionysus,    Periege- 

of  A  poll.  11.4',  iv.  25.  sis,  807:  rod     ttot'  eirl  Trpoxotici-v  "TXai' 

^2  Aeschylus,    fragm,,     224;    Ag.,  ■^pird^aro  l<iviJL<pr}. 


DIVINE  MANIFESTATIONS  IN  NEW  TESTAMENT  TIMES  37 

pardon  Socrates,  attacking  them  with  a  sword,  slamming  open  closed 
doors,  pulling  them  out  of  their  sleeping  quarters,  and  overturning  the 
beds  upon  them  (i.  5-20). 

The  view  that  superhuman  agencies  thus  lay  hold  of  or  attach  them- 
selves to  people  is  possibly  illustrated  by  a  practice  current  among  the 
Romans,  which  on  other  grounds  seems  to  be  only  insufficiently  explained. 
Livy  informs  us  that  Horatius,  after  the  murder  of  his  sister,  was  ac- 
quitted and  restored  to  a  place  in  Roman  society  only  after  he  had  passed 
imder  a  wooden  beam  spanning  a  narrow  passage  between  two  walls. 
Prisoners  released  to  return  to  their  homes,  especially  those  taken  in  war 
and  who  might  therefore  again  become  enemies,  were  compelled  to  imder- 
go  the  same  procedure.^"^  Frazer  relates  that  in  many  parts  of  the 
world,  as  well  among  native  tribes  as  among  the  modern  inhabitants  of 
Greece,  Syria,  and  Asia  Minor,  to  say  nothing  of  northern  peoples,  the 
practice  is  common  of  separating  the  spirit  from  the  individual  to  whom 
it  is  externally  attached.  In  all  cases,  although  details  vary,  the  general 
procedure  is  the  same.  The  subject  is  made  to  pass  through  an  aperture 
just  large  enough  to  permit  the  passage  of  the  body.  Sometimes  a  ring 
of  iron  is  laid  on  the  ground.  The  possessed  steps  into  it,  carefully  passes 
it  upward,  and  removes  it  over  his  head.  Another  method  is  to  draw 
the  subject  through  a  cleft  in  a  tree  or  rock.  Sometimes  two  poles  set 
upright,  with  one  transfixed  at  the  height  of  a  man's  head,  are  used  in- 
stead, and  the  individual  is  made  to  squeeze  through  the  opening  thus 
enclosed.  Frazer's  evidence  shows  that  the  people  practicing  these  rites 
claim  their  object  is  the  separation  of  the  spirit  from  the  one  to  whom  it 
clings.  In  connection  with  these  modem  examples,  Frazer  mentions  the 
instances  from  Livy  cited  above,  and,  after  a  cautious  investigation, 
concludes  that  the  present  observances  are  survivals  of  an  ancient  cus- 
tom. According  to  this  interpretation,  Horatius  was  not  a  fit  subject 
to  enter  Roman  society  until  the  menacing  ghost  of  his  dead  sister  had 
been  scraped  from  his  person,  and  the  released  prisoners  of  war,  who 
passed  under  the  yoke  before  departing  to  their  homes,  were  no  longer  to 
be  regarded  as  dangerous,  inasmuch  as  the  demons  who  inspired  them  to 
valiant  conduct  had  been  torn  from  them  and  left  behind  among  the 
Romans.^^  The  idea  of  such  an  external  connection  was  probably  in 
the  mind  of  Plato  when  he  used  the  words  which  follow:  eav  apa 

"Livy,  i.  26;  ill.  28;  ix.  6;  x.  36;  ^^  xhe  Golden  Bough,  Pt.  vii,  vol. 

Dion.  Hal.,  iii.  22.  7.  ii,  pp.  195  ff. 


38  DIVINE  MANIFESTATIONS  IN  NEW  TESTAMENT  TIMES 

iroXcLKLs  vv/jL(f)6\7]TrTos  .  .  .  yevcofjiai.^^  Liddell  and  Scott  give  "caught 
away  by  the  nymphs"  as  the  first  meaning  oivv}x4)6\7)TVTos.  Herodo- 
tus likewise  speaks  of  a  seizure  from  without  in  the  case  of  the 
Scythian  king  Scylas.  The  Scythians,  it  appears,  had  been  in  the 
habit  of  making  sport  of  certain  Greeks  because  of  the  frenzy  they 
manifested  upon  being  initiated  into  the  Dionysic  mysteries.  Scylas 
the  King  of  the  Scythians  finally  underwent  the  rites,  and  then  the 
Greeks  took  occasion  to  square  accounts  with  the  Scythians.  "You 
laugh  at  us,  O  Scythians,"  said  the  Greeks,  ^^otl  ^aKx^vofiev  Kal  rifieas 
6  deds  XajjL^aveL'  vvv  ovto^  6  datjiov  /cat  tov  vixkrepov  jSacrtXea  XeXajSry^e,  koX 
^aKxeve  /cat  viro  rod  deov  //atz^erat."^^  There  can  be  no  doubt  that  the 
historian  is  here  saying  that  the  deity  seized  and  laid  hold  of  the  king 
by  an  external  act. 

When  possession  was  thought  of  as  due  to  the  operation  of  agen- 
cies acting  from  within,  the  situation  was  described  in  terms  which 
were  fully  as  realistic  as  those  employed  in  connection  with  the  former 
method.  Only  one  or  two  references  need  be  cited  here.  Euripides 
writes  of  Bacchus:  orav  yap  6  Beds  els  to  acb/j,'  eXdrj  iroXvs}^  Aretaeus/ 
the  Greek  physician,  who  flourished  about  80  a.d.,  speaks  in  one  of 
his  works  of  8ai/jLovos  els  rbv  avSpoiirov  etaodos}^  Porphyry,  according 
to  Eusebius,  believed  that  demons  dwelt  in  animals,  and  remained  a 
vegetarian  nearly  all  his  life  because  he  did  not  wish  "to  insinuate  a 
demon  into  himself.  "^^  Lucan  says  that  a  virgin  became  inspired  at 
Delphi  even  against  her  will  "because  a  portion  of  the  entire  Jove 
.  .  .  has  been  concealed  in  the  maiden's  breast  .  .  .  (she)  receives 
the  deity  in  her  unaccustomed  breast  .  .  .  and  never  more  fully 
did  he  enter  into  limbs  inspired  by  him  .  .  .  (he)  buries  flames  in 
her  entrails  .  .  .  her  frantic  fit  still  lasts,  and  the  god  whom  as  yet 
she  has  not  expelled  still  remains  in  her.  "^^ 

The  ecstatic  and  highly  wrought  condition  accompanying  possession 
usually  issued  in  practical  benefits  covering  the  whole  range  of  the  indi- 
vidual's life  and  interests,  although  Lucan,  in  the  Pharsalia,  v.  117  ff., 
states  that  the  result  on  occasion  might  be  death.  In  the  Bacchae  of 
Euripides  we  have  an  excellent  description  of  these  various  advantages. 

w  Plato,  Phaed.,  238  D;  cf.  Aris-  "  Cited,  McClintock  and  Strong, 

totle,  Eth.,  E.  i.  1.  4.  DicL,  "Demoniac,"  vol.  ii,  p.  641. 
17  Herod,  iv.  79.  20  e^s.,  Praep.  Evang.,  iv.  22  ff . 

"  Eurip.,  Bacchae,  300.  "  Lucan,  Pharsalia,  v.  80  ff . 


DIVINE  MANIFESTATIONS  IN  NEW  TESTAMENT  TIMES  39 

Fire  can  not  burn  the  initiate,  who  sheds  old  age  as  a  garment.  He  is 
made  mighty  for  war,  and  receives  wisdom.  A  mother  who  is  inspired  by 
the  god  may  tear  her  own  son  limb  from  Umb,  and  maidens  in  a  similar 
state  catch  wild  bulls  and  slay  them  with  naked  hands.  An  initiate 
bends  down  heaven-piercing  firs  trees  to  earth,  and  feels  able  to  pluck 
up  and  carry  away  on  his  shoulders  "  Cithaeron's  glens  with  their  crown 
of  silver  firs."  Still  others  are  driven  to  prophesy,  and  all  in  general 
are  made  happy,  joyous,  and  blessed.^^  Cicero  was  of  the  opinion  that 
nemo  vir  magnus  sine  aliquo  adflatu  divino  umquam  fuit,^^  and  Plato,  in 
insisting  that  "madness  is  not  always  an  evil,"  explains  his  position 
further:  "  there  is  also  a  madness  induced  by  possession  which  is  a  divine 
gift  and  the  source  of  the  chiefest  blessings  granted  to  mankind."^* 

The  characteristics  of  this  madness  are  presented  to  us  in  various 
authors.  Herodotus  states  that  Scylas  the  Scythain  "raged."  The 
initiates  in  the  Bacchae  of  Euripides  manifest  extreme  agitation  of  body 
and  mind.  Lucan,  in  describing  the  conduct  of  the  maiden  who  under- 
went at  Delphi  forced  possession  by  the  god  in  order  that  she  might  pro- 
phesy, says:  "Frantic  she  rages  through  the  caves,  bearing  her  neck 
possessed  .  .  .  shaking  .  .  .  her  upright  hair  .  .  .  and  whirls  round 
with  her  neck  shaking  to  and  fro,  and  throws  down  the  tripods  .  .  .as 
she  roams  along,  and  boils  with  mighty  flames  .  .  .  raging  with  wrath 
...  the  flaming  frenzy  flows  forth  about  her  maddened  lips,  and  groans 
and  loud  murmurs  from  her  gasping  mouth;  then  there  are  mournful 
yells  in  the  vast  caverns  .  .  .  she  moans  as  the  swelling  sea  after  the 
hoarse  blast  of  Boreas.  "^^ 

Space  wiU  permit  only  a  brief  outline  of  the  practical  issues  of  pos- 
sesson.  In  the  Odyssey,  v.  396,  a  case  of  "wasting  sickness"  is  caused 
by  a  daifjLop  arvyepos,  and  Galen,  ii.  368;  viii.  97,  is  authority  for  the  state- 
ment that  the  school  of  physicians  known  as  UvevfxaTLKol  referred  all 
questions  of  health  to  pneumatic  agencies.  Lucan  refers  to  frenzy  for 
war  inspired  by  the  Roman  deity  Bellona,  while  Homer  tells  us  how  Zeus 
by  a  touch  of  his  scepter  transmitted  inspiration  of  body  and  limb  for 
battle.26  In  Aeschylus,  Euripides,  Aristophanes,  and  Plutarch  various 
kinds  of  mental  disorders  indicate  that  the  individual  is  hainovav}'' 

22  Lines  758  fif.;  190  ff.;  302,  1128;  ^  Pharsalia,    1.    56    ff.;    //.,  xiii. 

655  fif.;   1113  ff.;  735  ff.;   1064  ff.;  946;  66  ff. 
298ff.;72ff.;  133ff.  27  Aesch.,    Cheoph,    566;    Eurip., 

^  Nat.  of  the  Gods,  ii,  66.  Phaen.,  888;  Aristoph.,  Thesm.,  1054; 

24  Plat.,  Phaedr.  245  A.  Plut.,  Vit.  MarcelL,  20. 

25  Lucan,  Phars.,  v.  172  ff. 


40  DIVINE  MANIFESTATIONS  IN  NEW  TESTAMENT  TIMES 

Prophecy,  says  Plato,  is  the  result  of  madness,  and  the  prophetesses  at 
Delphi  and  Dodona,  when  out  of  their  senses,  ''have  conferred  great 
blessings  on  Hellas."  There  is  also,  he  continues,  a  madness  which  dehvers 
from  evil.  "He  who  is  truly  possessed  and  duly  out  of.  his  mind,  is  by 
means  of  purifications  and  mysteries  made  whole  and  exempt  from  evil, 
present  and  future. "  A  third  kind  of  madness  is  the  madness  of  poetry, 
and  a  fourth  is  "the  madness  of  love."^^  Of  the  possessed  person, 
Teireseas,  speaking  in  the  Bacchae  of  Euripides,  says:  "a  prophet  is  he 
Hkewise.  Prophecy  cleaves  to  all  frenzy,  but  beyond  all  else  to  the  frenzy 
of  prayer.  Then  in  us  verily  dwells  the  god  himself,  and  speaks  the  things 
to  be.  "2^  Prophecy  and  Hterary  abihty  were  not  always  distinguished  as 
results  of  inspiration.  Thus  Hesiod  says:  "The  daughters,  ready  in 
speech,  of  mighty  Zeus  .  .  .  breathed  into  me  a  voice  divine  that  I 
might  sing  both  the  future  and  the  past,"  and  elsewhere  he  exercises  his 
gift  in  prophesying  the  future  of  the  fifth  race  of  men.^^  Cicero  was  of 
the  opinion  that  poetam  quasi  divino  quodam  spiritu  inflari?^  Effects 
upon  the  speech  of  possessed  persons  were  also  observable.  The  maiden 
at  Delphi,  described  by  Lucan,  muttered,  groaned,  and  gave  vent  to 
other  vocal  paroxysms.  Another  writer,  Lucian,  who  should  not  be  con- 
fused with  Lucan,  claims  that  in  cases  of  possession,  "the  patient  is 
silent,  and  the  spirit  answers  the  questions  asked.  "^^  Clement  of  Alex- 
andria quotes  Plato  to  the  effect  that  "  the  demoniac  does  not  use  his 
own  dialect  or  tongue  but  that  of  the  demon  who  has  entered  into  him.  "^^ 
Certain  ethical  results  also  followed  possession.  Andocides  assumes 
that  one  initiated  into  the  Eleusinian  mysteries  is  in  a  position  to  make  a 
better  judge,^  and  Diodorus  expresses  a  similar  view  of  the  effect  of  the 
Samothracian  mysteries.^  Aristophenes  says  that  those  possessed  by 
Dionysos  "Hved  in  pious  fashion.  "^^  Cicero  held  that  while  the  contri- 
bution of  Athens  to  the  welfare  of  mankind  was  in  all  respects  "excellent 
and  divine, "  nothing  was  greater  than  the  mysteries.^^  Epictetus  claims 
the  Eleusinian  mysteries  were  instituted  by  the  ancients  for  the  "instruc- 
ts Phaed.,  245  A.  3'  stromata,  i.  405. 
29  298  ff.  ~  3*  De  Mysterium,  31. 
^°Theog.  30  £f.;  Wks.  and  Days,  as  v.  49. 
180  ff.  3«  Ran.  455. 
"  Arch.,  8.  18.  3'  Laws,  iii.  14. 
32  Quoted  McClintock  and  Strong, 
ibid.,  "  Demoniac, "  ii.  p.  641. 


DIVINE  MANIFESTATIONS  IN  NEW  TESTAMENT  TIMES  41 

tion  and  correction  of  life."'^  Nero,  when  at  Athens,  was  afraid  to 
attend  the  Eleusinian  rites  because  heralds  had  warned  wicked  and  im- 
pious persons  to  stay  away.^^  Celsus  regarded  the  pagan  mysteries  as 
better  than  the  Christian  ones,  because  the  latter  admitted  sinners  while 
the  former  permitted  only  the  pure  approach.^  In  inscriptions  con- 
tained on  three  gold  tablets  discovered  in  Orphic  tombs  in  lower  Italy 
and  dating  from  the  third  century  B.C.,  the  initiate  contends  that  his 
soul  is  *'pure,"  that  it  has  made  atonement  for  ''works  of  iniquity,"  and 
that  on  this  ground  he  has  a  right  to  claim  eternal  bliss.^^  The  influence 
of  possession  on  the  condition  of  the  soul  both  during  life  and  after  death 
formed  an  important  item  in  the  mystery  cults.  When  one  is  inspired  by 
Isis,  his  "soul  goes  down  to  the  nether  world"  where  it  sees  the  goddess 
"shining"  and  dwells  continually  in  the  "Elysian  fields,"  comforted 
by  the  smiles  of  deity .^^  The  Eleusinian  mysteries  furnish  "the  initial 
basis  of  life,"  claims  Cicero.  "And  not  only  have  we  a  theory  of  living 
with  joyousness, "  he  continues,  "  but  even  of  dying  with  a  better  hope.  "'^ 
In  Aristophenes'  Frogs,  454  ff.,  a  chorus  representing  souls  after  death 
sings :  "  for  to  us  alone  sun  and  hght  are  cheerful,  to  all  of  us  who  have  been 
initiated  and  lived  in  pious  wise. "  Isocrates,  in  Panegyricus,  28,  claims 
Demeter  gives  many  benefits  to  men,  and  that  among  them  is  "initiation 
the  sharers  in  which  cherish  more  pleasing  hopes  both  as  to  the  end  of 
life  and  all  eternity."  "Blessed  is  that  one  of  the  men  of  earth,"  says 
the  ffomeric  Hymn  to  Demeter,  480  ff,,  "who  has  gazed  upon  these  things 
(emblems  in  Eleusinian  mysteries).  But  he  who  is  not  initiated  into 
the  sacred  rites,  and  he  who  has  no  share  therein,  never  have  they  a 
similar  allotment,  passed  away  though  they  be,  under  the  dank  and 
mouldy  darkness."  A  fragment  of  Sophocles  (753)  preserved  by  Plu- 
tarch in  De  Audiendis  Poetis,  4,  is  to  the  same  effect:  "Thrice  blessed  are 
those  mortals,  who,  having  gazed  upon  the  mystic  rites,  go  to  the  lower 
world:  for  they  alone  are  there  allowed  to  have  life,  the  others  have 
nothing  but  evil  there. "  But  it  was  not  alone  that  men  were  assured  of 
immortality  after  death;  they  might  also  become  immortal  during  life. 
Plutarch,  Isis  and  Osiris,  2,  speaks  of  initiates  who  are  "regularly  ad- 
vanced into  the  deified  state,"  and  a  Mithras  worshipper,  in  Dietrich's 

^^  Dis.,  iii.  21.  4  vols.,  Jno.  Murray,  London,   1901, 

3«  Suet.,  Nero,  24.  vol.  1,  p.  133;  cf.  p.  84. 

"  Origen,  c.  Cels.,  iii.  59  ff.  *-  Apuleius,  Mefam.,  ix.  6. 

"  Cited,  Gomperz,  Greek  Thinkers,  "  Laws,  ii.  36. 


42  DIVINE  MANIFESTATIONS  IN  NEW  TESTAMENT  TIMES 

Mithrasliturgie,  p.  ?>,  exclaims:  "if  it  .  .  .  seems  good  to  you  to  permit 
me,  though  now  held  down  by  my  lower  nature,  to  be  reborn  to  immor- 
tality .  .  .  that  I  may  become  mentally  reborn,  that  I  may  become 
initiated,  that  the  Holy  Spirit  may  breathe  in  me."  The  union  between 
deity  and  man  became  so  close  and  intimate  that  the  believer  actually 
"became  Bacchus";  that  is,  he  became  God,  and,  therefore,  immortal.^^ 
The  idea  is  clearly  brought  out  in  Hercules  Furens,  where,  in  hne  1119, 
votaries  are  named  with  the  name  of  the  god,  a  male  initiate  being  called 
by  the  name  in  its  masculine  form,  and  a  female  in  its  feminine. 

The  spirit  came  upon,  or  entered  into,  one  in  ways  which  are  so  num- 
erous and  so  various  as  almost  to  defy  classification.  A  person  could 
become  possessed  agamst  his  wiU,  as  in  the  case  of  the  maiden  at  Delphi, 
described  by  Lucan.  Deissmann,  in  Light  from  the  Ancient  East,  p.  307 
quotes  an  inscription  of  the  fourth  century  B.C.,  contained  on  a  leaden 
tablet  from  Attica,  in  which  a  number  of  persons  are  turned  over  to  an 
evil  deity  to  be  ''bound  down."  A  case  of  voluntary  possession  is  that 
of  the  Cumaean  Sibyl  in  the  presence  of  Aeneas,  a  description  of  which 
is  given  by  Virgil  in  the  opening  lines  of  the  sixth  book  of  the  Aeneid. 
Sometimes  a  number  of  persons  composing  a  group  were  seized  simul- 
taneously. On  some  occasions  deity  affected  an  individual  directly;  on 
others  he  operated  through  a  medium.  Another  classification  might 
follow  the  line  of  distinguishing  the  purposes  for  which  possession  was 
secured,  such  as  poHtical,  military,  or  religious;  and  still  another  possibihty 
is  to  set  forth  the  materials  on  the  basis  of  whether  the  procedure  was  or 
was  not  formal  and  institutionalized.  None  of  the  above  schemes  takes 
full  account  of  all  the  phases  of  the  matter.  In  view  of  this  difficulty, 
it  is  perhaps  best  to  present  a  number  of  typical  examples,  and  to  permit 
the  reader  to  pigeon-hole  them  as  best  suits  his  fancy. 

Plato  tells  us  that  the  poet  Homer,  having  received  the  spirit  from 
deity,  passed  it  on  to  his  interpreter.  Ion,  and  that  the  latter,  in  turn, 
transmitted  it  to  his  audiences.^  Two  points  should  be  noticed  here: 
the  spirit  may  be  transferred  by  an  individual  possessing  it  to  another  or 
to  a  group,  and  listening  to  pubUc  discourse  is  favorable  to,  or  at  least  an 
occasion  of,  its  reception.  Lines  135  ff.  of  the  Bacchae  indicate  that 
numbers  of  people  frequently  obtained  the  spirit  simultaneously,  to  the 
accompaniment  of  processionals,  song,  music,  dancing,  shouting,  and  the 
clanging  of  symbols.    Homer  tells  us  in  the  opening  of  the  thirteenth 

"  Eurip.,  Frag.,  475.  «  Plato,  Ion,  333-336. 


DIVINE  MANIFESTATIONS  IN  NEW  TESTAMENT  TIMES  43 

book  of  Iliad  that  Poseidon  transfused  divine  potency  into  the  leaders  of 
the  Greeks,  "  filled  them  with  strength  and  courage,  and  their  limbs,  their 
feet,  their  hands  with  active  vigor  strung, "  by  the  laying  on  of  his  scepter. 
The  partaking  of  special  food  and  drink  also  seems  to  have  played  a  large 
part  in  attaining  the  possessed  state.  The  question  of  ritual  eating  and 
drinking  is  too  complicated  fully  to  be  discussed  here,  but  the  subject 
may  be  studied  at  length  in  various  places.^®  The  theory  underlying 
the  practice  appears  to  have  been  that  in  this  way  divine  substance  was 
taken  into  the  system.  The  rite,  as  far  as  the  matter  can  be  determined, 
worked  itself  out  in  two  forms.  In  the  first,  the  votary  ate  the  god,  and, 
in  the  second,  he  ate  the  same  kind  of  food  the  god  ate.  In  either  case 
the  result,  as  far  as  the  individual  was  concerned,  was  union  with  deity. 
When  one  ate  the  god,  he  actually  took  into  his  system  an  immortal 
increment,  with  the  result  that  he  himself  became  immortal;  when  he 
ate  the  same  kind  of  food  the  god  ate,  he  became  immortal,  too,  for  the 
reason  that  what  produced  divine  Hfe  in  deity  also  produced  the  same 
quality  of  Hfe  in  himself.     Thus  an  Eleusinian  initiate  says:  "I  fasted, 

1  drank  the  /cu/cecoi^, "^^  and  an  Attis  worshipper  exclaims:  "I  have  eaten 
out  of  the  TVjjLTravov,  I  have  drunk  out  of  the  kv^jl^oKov,  I  have  become  an 
initiate  of  Attis.  "^^  In  the  Krates  of  Euripides  a  votary  speaks  of 
"Lengthening  out  a  hfe  of  purity  from  the  day  that  I  became  an  initiate 
of  Idean  Zeus  ...  a  celebrant  of  the  meal  of  raw  flesh,"  and  the  same 
author,  in  the  reference  to  the  Bacchae  just  mentioned,  presents  the  meal 
of  raw  flesh  as  an  important  part  of  the  Dionysos  ritual.  Arnobius 
sarcastically  speaks  of  the  Bacchic  custom  as  follows :  "  that  I  may  exhibit 
you  as  full  of  the  godhead,  you  mangle  with  bloodstained  lips  the  inward 
parts  of  bleeding  goats.  .  .  ."^^  Drinking  the  blood  of  the  victim  at 
the  conclusion  of  the  partaking  of  its  flesh  formed  a  part  of  the  ritual  of 

**  Deitrich,    Eine    Mithrasliturgie,  passim.     Kennedy,  however,  must  be 

2  ed.,  pp.  100  ff.;  Heitmiiller,  Taufe  read  with  the  fact  in  mind  that  he  is 
M.  Abendmahl  bei  Paulus,  pp.  40  ff.;  attempting  to  prove  that  contempo- 
Frazer,  Golden  Bough,  2  ed.  vol.  ii,  pp.  rary  influences  upon  early  Christian 
318  ff.;   Farnell,   Cults,   vol.   v,   ch.   5;  practices  were  slight. 

Harrison,  Prolegommena,  ch.  10.     For  *''  Clem.  Alex.  ed.  Stahlin,  i.,  p.  16, 

the   relation   between    these    customs,  18. 

including  baptism  or  ritual  washing,  *8  Firmicus  Maternus,  ed.  Ziegler, 

and  the  Christian  Eucharist  and  bap-  p.  43,  17  and  also  Clem.  Alex,  ihid.,  i, 

tism,  see  Lake,  Earlier  Epistles  of  St.  p.  13,  10. 

Paul,  pp.  384  ff.,  etc.,  and  Kennedy,  "  Adv.  Nat.,  5.  19. 

St.    Paul    and    the   Mystery   Religions, 


44  DIVINE  MANIFESTATIONS  IN  NEW  TESTAMENT  TIMES 

the  Roman  Fr aires  Arvales  in  honor  of  Dea  Dia.  The  minutes  of  one  of 
the  meetings  of  the  brotherhood,  as  quoted  in  Hastings,  Dictionary  of 
Religion  and  Ethics,  vol.  ii,  p.  10b,  tell  how  "they  feasted  upon  the 
young  sow  which  had  been  sacrificed  for  expiation,  and  afterward  con- 
sumed the  blood."  The  other  phase  of  ritual  eating  and  drinking  is 
brought  out  in  Paris  Papyri,  i.  110;  iii.  523.  Here  we  have  invitations 
sent  out  by  the  priests  to  sup  at  the  "table  of  the  Lord  Serapis,"  one 
meal  to  occur  in  the  Serapeum,  and  the  other  in  a  private  house  at  3 
o'clock  in  the  afternoon.  The  god  is  presented  as  one  of  those  to  be 
present  and  to  partake  of  the  feasts.  The  idea  of  feasting  with  deity 
seems  to  have  been  common.  In  the  case  of  Paulina,  described  by 
Josephus  in  the  Antiquities,  xviii.  18,  both  she  and  her  husband  and 
friends  accepted  as  a  matter  of  course  the  fact  that  she  was  to  sup  with 
Anubis  in  the  temple.  Hesiod,  again,  became  possessed  when  he  plucked 
a  few  leaves  from  Mount  Helicon,  according  to  Lucian ;  but  Hesiod  him- 
self claims  that  the  spirit  came  upon  him  when  the  Muses  handed  him  a 
rod  of  laurel  and  "a  voice  imbreathed  divine  that  I  might  utter  forth  in 
song  both  the  future  and  the  past.  "^^  The  imbreathing  of  a  divine  incre- 
ment here  mentioned  by  Hesiod  appears  to  have  been  anything  but 
uncommon  among  the  Hellenistic  peoples  of  the  time.  "Maddened 
Ares  eimrvel"  an  influence  "polluting"  or  affecting  the  piety  of  a  whole 
community ,^^  and  Plato  claims  that  the  prophets  of  the  Muses  "breathed 
upon"  Socrates  the  "gifts"  of  his  hterary  and  other  abiUties.^^  Yet 
another  method  of  securing  possession  consisted  in  the  acquirement  of  the 
same  knowledge  as  that  which  was  the  property  of  deity.  The  result 
was  an  intellectual  identification  with  the  god.  A  man  became  one  with 
deity  when  he  knew  the  same  thing  deity  knew.  This  method  was 
emphasized  in  Gnosticism.  Irenaeus  preserves  items  of  such  esoteric 
information,  which,  he  says,  is  supposed  to  enable  its  possessor  to  feel 
that  his  "inner  man"  has  been  "sent  forward  to  the  demiurge,"  and  that 
he  is  therefore  prepared  to  escape  "from  the  powers. "^^  A  figurative 
expression  of  this  view  is  contained  in  the  Hermetic  tract.  The  Bowl  or  the 
Monad,  iv.  4,  where  Hermes  tells  his  son  that  the  highest  prize  in  reach 
of  man  is  participation  in  the  Supreme  Mind  (nous)  sent  down  to  earth 
by  God  in  a  mighty  bowl,  with  the  command  to  men,  "  Baptize  thyself 

^°Ludsin,  Orator's  Guide,    59    ff.;  ^^  Phaedrus,  262  1). 

Theog.  35  fif.  "  ^g.  Heresies,  i.  21.  5. 

"Aeschylus,     Theb.,     330-5;     cf. 
Soph.,  Ant.,  136  ff. 


DIVINE  MANIFESTATIONS  IN  NEW  TESTAMENT  TIMES  -  45 

who  canst  in  this  bowl,  beUeving  that  thou  mayest  ascend  to  him  who 
sent  down  the  bowl."  Baptisms  and  ceremonial  washings  were  also 
regarded  as  effective.  A  part  of  Lucian's  initiation  into  the  mysteries  of 
Isis  consisted  of  ablution  and  sprinkling.^  Livy  mentions  similar 
ceremonials  in  his  description  of  the  Bacchanalia.^^  Paris  Papyri,  No. 
47,  reads:  ''we  can  not  die:  if  you  see  that  we  are  destined  to  be  saved, 
then  we  may  proceed  to  baptism, "  and  an  inscription  tells  us  that  one 
who  undergoes  the  baptism  of  the  taurobolium  is  in  aeternum  renatus.^ 
These  examples  show  not  only  that  the  sphere  in  which  possession 
operated  included  practically  all  the  interests  of  Hfe,  but  also  that  when 
possession  was  deemed  desirable  means  were  present  for  securing  that  end. 
On  the  other  hand,  it  was  possible  to  prevent  a  person  from  coming 
thus  into  the  control  of  supernatural  agencies,  or,  if  one  were  already  in 
that  state,  to  relieve  him  of  his  difficulty.  General  discussions  of  demon- 
ology  may  be  found  in  the  articles  on  exorcism,  possession,  demons,  and 
kindred  topics  in  the  various  dictionaries  and  encyclopaedias.  The 
article  "Magia"  in  Pauly's  Real  Encycl.  d.  class.  Alt.  iv.,  pp.  1377  ff.  is 
especially  valuable.  Conybeare  touches  phases  of  the  matter  at  various 
places  in  Myth,  Magic,  and  Morals,  and  in  vols,  viii  and  ix.  of  the  Jewish 
Quarterly  Review  he  presents  a  series  of  papers  on  "The  Demonology  of 
the  New  Testament. "  T.  R.  Glover  has  a  discussion  on  ''The  Daimon- 
Environment  of  the  Primitive  Christian,"  in  the  Hibbert  Journal  for 
1912-13,  vol.  xi,  pp.  153-167.  Chapter  v  of  Jane  Ellen  Harrison's 
Prolegommena  is  of  great  value  here  in  pointing  out  that  the  notion  of 
possession  by  evil  spirits,  and  of  guarding  against  them,  is  present  in 
practically  all  stages  of  Greek  thought  from  the  earUest  times.  Demos- 
thenes in  De  Corona  relates  that  the.  mother  of  Aeschines  was  an  exorcist, 
and  Diogenes  Laertius,  in  book  x.  3,  states  that  Posidonius,  Nicolaus, 
Sotion,  and  Dionysius  Hahcarnassus  all  claimed  the  same  thing  with 
regard  to  Epicurus,  charging  "that  he  used  to  accompany  his  mother 
when  she  went  about  the  small  cottages  performing  the  purifications, 
and  that  he  used  to  read  the  formula. "  Healings  and  exorcisms,  while 
both  have  to  do  with  effects  of  possession,  were  perhaps  regarded  as  two 
distinct  lines  of  professional  activity.  Healings  were  frequently  con- 
summated by  touching  or  anointing.^^    It  does  not  seem  that  formulae 

^*  Apuleius,  Metam.,  xi.  20.  wddely  the  healing  power  of  the  hand 

^^  xxxix.  9.  was  believed  in  by  Greeks  and  Romans. 

^'  Corp.  Ins.  Lat.,  vi.  510.  See  also  Behm,  Die  Handaujlegung  in 

^'' VJeinreich,  Antike  Heilungswun-  Uhrchristentum,  u.s.w.,  Leipzig,   1911. 
der,      Geissen,       1909,     shows      how 


46  DIVINE  MANIFESTATIONS  IN  NEW  TESTAMENT  TIMES 

and  sacred  names  were  used  to  any  great  degree  by  healers,  while,  on 
the  other  hand,  both  were  largely  employed  by  exorcists.  Celsus,  in 
Origen's  Contra  Celsum,  viii.  58,  says  that  the  Egyptians  "tell  us  that 
thirty-six  (some  say  many  more)  demons  or  divinities  of  the  air  have 
allotted  among  themselves  the  human  body,  which  is  supposed  to  be 
divided  into  a  corresponding  number  of  parts,  and  that  each  has  taken 
one  of  these  parts  under  his  own  pecuhar  charge.  And  they  know  the 
names  of  the  demons  in  their  native  tongue,  such  as  Chnumen,  Chachu- 
men,  Knat,  Sikat,  Biu,  Eru,  Erebui,  Ramanor,  and  Reinanoor,  or  what- 
ever else  they  may  be  called.  By  invoking  these  they  cure  the  ailments 
of  the  different  members  of  the  body."  Here  the  name  of  a  spiritual 
agency  is  employed  for  the  purpose  of  exorcising  a  less  powerful  agency. 
In  MilUgan's  Greek  Papyri^  No.  47,  p.  113,  an  interesting  formula  is 
found.  It  begins:  "A  notable  spell  for  driving  out  demons,"  and  con- 
tinues: "Hail  Spirit  of  Abraham,  hail  Spirit  of  Isaac,  hail  Spirit  of  Jacob 
.  .  .  drive  forth  this  devil  from  this  man,  and  the  unclean  demon  of 
Satan  shall  flee  before  thee.  ...  I  adjure  thee,  demon,  whoever  thou 
art,  to  come  forth."  Deissmann,  in  Light  from  the  Ancient  East,  p.  132, 
quotes  an  inscription  illustrating  the  method  of  heaUng  by  anointing: 
"To  Aper,  a  blind  soldier,  the  god  (Aesculapius)  revealed  that  he  should 
go  and  take  blood  of  a  white  cock,  together  with  honey,  and  rub  them 
into  an  eyesalve,  and  anoint  his  eyes  .  .  .  and  he  received  his  sight  and 
came  and  gave  thanks  pubHcly  to  the  god."  Thus  it  is  apparent  that 
when  possession  by  spiritual  agencies  was  deemed  undesirable,  means 
were  at  hand  for  rectifying  the  situation. 

Among  the  Hebrews  the  matter  of  divine  possession  presents  the  same 
general  characteristic  as  those  found  in  the  Hellenistic  world.  The  book 
of  Genesis  opens  with  the  statement  that  the  spirit  of  God  moved  upon 
the  face  of  the  deep.  Spiritual  agencies  of  various  sorts  and  of  varying 
degrees  of  importance  meet  us  on  nearly  every  page  of  the  Old  Testament. 
Nor  is  the  extra-Old  Testament  Jewish  Hterature  an  exception  to  this 
rule.  Both  the  Book  of  Enoch,  and  the  Book  of  Jubilees  present  to  us 
organized  hierarchies  of  such  beings.  In  chapters  6-12  of  the  former, 
wicked  spirits  are  fallen  angels,  and  the  righteous  angels,  having  retained 
their  original  state,  serve  as  agents  in  meting  out  punishment  to  them. 
In  the  latter,  good  and  evil  spirits  alike  regularly  interfere  with  the  course 
of  human  affairs,  incitmg  men  to  good  and  evil  deeds. 


DIVINE  MANIFESTATIONS  IN  NEW  TESTAMENT  TIMES  47 

According  to  Acts  23:8  the  Sadducees  seem  to  represent  the  only 
circle  of  Jewish  thought  which  denied  the  existence  of  a  multiplicity  of 
spiritual  agencies.  The  same  source  states  that  the  Pharisees  affirmed 
their  reahty,  and  in  the  War,  ii.  8.7,  Josephus  informs  us  that  Essene 
novices  were  made  to  swear  "  to  preserve  .  .  .  the  names  of  the  angels. " 

Spiritual  beings  such  as  these  came  into  immediate  contact  with  men 
in  two  ways.  In  /  Sam.  16:16  an  evil  spirit  from  God  is  ''upon"  (^H) 
Saul,  and  the  same  preposition  is  employed  in  Isa.  61:1  of  the  spirit 
with  which  the  prophets  are  inspired.  Possession  occurring  in  this  way 
is  described  by  terms  indicating  suddenness  and  violence.  The  spirit 
*' comes  upon,"  ''comes  mightily  upon,"  "falls  upon,"  and  "descends 
and  rests  on"  people,^^  enveloping  them  about,  apparently  as  a  more  or 
less  abiding  possession. 

On  the  other  hand,  the  spirit  sometimes  operated  upon  a  man  by  act- 
ing from  within.  In  /  Sam.  10:10  and  18:10  it  "passed  into"  or  "pro- 
ceeded into"  (^n  ^y)  Saul.  In  Judg.  14:16  the  same  expression  is  used 
of  soldiery  "rushing  into"  the  waters  of  the  Jordan.  In  /  Kgs.  22:22 
a  'lying  spirit"  from  Yahweh  is  "in  the  mouth  of"  his  prophets,  and  in 
Judg.  6:34  and  //  Chron.  24:20  the  spirit,  when  it  takes  possession  of  a 
man  ''puts  on"  the  individual,  or  "clothes  itself  with"  him,  as  with  a 
garment. 

Ecstatic  and  frenzied  states  accompanied  possession.  When  under 
the  influence  of  the  spirit,  Ezekiel  sometimes  fell  down,  and  was  raised 
suddenly  to  his  feet.  /  Sam.  19 :20  relates  that,  when  the  spirit  first  came 
upon  Saul,  he  threw  off  his  clothes,  prophesied  before  Samuel,  and  lay 
on  the  ground  naked  a  day  and  a  night.  Isaiah  went  naked  and  barefoot 
for  three  years  at  the  command  of  the  spirit,  and  Jeremiah  wore  a  bar 
about  his  neck  until  it  was  broken  off  by  another  prophet.^^  The  des- 
criptions of  the  bands  of  ecstatic  individuals  going  about  the  country 
and  prophesying,  which  may  be  found  here  and  there  in  the  historical 
books  of  the  Old  Testament,  bear  ample  testimony  to  the  j)hysical  and 
mental  states  accompanying  possession.  Sometimes  these  bands  are 
called  "sons  of  the  prophets,"  as  in  /  Sam.  19:20,  //  Kgs.  2:3,  5,  7,  15; 
4:1,  38,  and  elsewhere,  as  in  /  Kgs.  20:41.  In  Nih.  6:14,  and  Hos.  12:10, 
the  prophet  is  spoken  of  as  a  special  class.  Seats  of  such  companies  ap- 
pear to  have  been  at  Jericho,  according  to  II  Kgs.  2:15,  and  at  Gilgal, 

68/    Sam.,    19:20,    23;    10:6,    10;  ^^  Ezek.,  2:2;  Isa.,  20:2',  J er. ,2^:10, 

Ezek.,  11:5;  Num.,  11:25,  26.  12. 


48  DIVINE  MANIFESTATIONS  IN  NEW  TESTAMENT  TIMES 

according  to  II  Kgs.  4:28.  One  such  company  contained  as  many  as  one 
hundred  men.^^  Jeremiah  couples  "mad"  and  "prophet"  together  and 
the  prophet  who  anoints  Jehu  king  is  called  "mad."^^  The  Judaeo- 
Greek  philosopher  Philo  states  that  "reason  departs  when  the  spirit  of 
God  enters  the  soul,  and  returns  when  it  departs.  "^^ 

It  has  already  been  pointed  out  that  one  of  the  practical  results  of 
possession  was  prophecy.  Thus  in  /  Sam.  19 :2  the  spirit  comes  suddenly 
upon  a  group  of  Saul's  messengers  and  they  immediately  begin  to  pro- 
phesy. Another  result  seems  to  have  been  hterary  ability.  In  Num. 
24:2  the  spirit  comes  upon  Balaam  and  he  "utters  a  poem."  Joshua, 
according  to  Num.  27:18,  is  fitted  to  lead  Israel  because  he  possesses  the 
spirit.  On  one  occasion,  relates  Ezekiel,  in  3:14,  the  spirit,  coming 
suddenly  upon  him,  "took  me  away,  and  I  went  ..."  Thus  also  it 
suddenly  snatched  Elijah  away,  men  know  not  where,  and  they  fear  it 
may  drop  him  upon  a  mountain  or  cast  him  down  into  a  vaUey.®^  In 
Gen.  41 :38  we  read  that  Pharoah  recognized  that  Joseph's  skill  in  inter- 
preting dreams  and  directing  affairs  of  state  was  due  to  the  fact  that  the 
spirit  of  God  was  in  him.  Elsewhere  we  read  of  a  spirit  of  jealousy,  of  a 
spirit  of  judgment,  of  a  spirit  of  wisdom;^  and  in  Ex.  31 :3  and  35:31  the 
spirit  of  God,  when  it  takes  possession  of  certain  men,  makes  them  skilled 
workers  in  gold,  silver,  iron,  and  wood.  In  the  Book  of  Enoch,  spiritual 
agencies  teach  war  and  seduce  women;  in  Tohit  they  are  regarded  as 
oppressors  of  men;  and  in  the  Testaments  of  the  XII  Patriarchs  sin,  lust, 
chicanery,  pride,  rapacity,  all  are  attributed  to  their  activity.  Posses- 
sion also  produced  what  may  be  called  moral  or  ethical  results.  Any 
reader  of  the  prophets  is  aware  of  this  fact.  One  example  will  suffice. 
In  //  Chron.  15:1  ff.  the  spirit  suddenly  comes  upon  Azariah,  and  he  be- 
comes so  insistent  in  urging  the  reform  of  certain  abuses  that  Asa  im- 
mediately "put  away  all  the  abominations." 

There  can  be  httle  doubt  that  the  special  qualifications  distinguishing 
such  individuals  as  Moses,  David,  Solomon,  and  others,  were  looked 
upon  as  due  to  possession.  When  Saul  was  seized,  according  to  I  Sam. 
11:6,  he  rent  his  oxen,  and  sending  the  fragments  broadcast,  called  all 
Israel  to  war  with  Ammon ;  and,  similarly,  the  spirit  came  upon  Othniel, 

^0 1  Kgs.,  ISA.  ^^I  Kgs.,  IS:12;  II  Kgs.,  2:16. 

61  Jer.,  29:26;  //  Kgs.,  9:1-13.  e*  j^^m.,  5:14,  30;  Isa.,  4:4,  28:6; 

*2  Quoted,    Angus,    The    Environ-  Isa.,  11:2. 
ment  of  Early  Christianity,  p.  191. 


DIVINE  MANIFESTATIONS  IN  NEW  TESTAMENT  TIMES  49 

Gideon,  and  Jephtha,  and  they  went  out  to  war  and  judged  Israel.^ 
The  case  of  Samson  is  perhaps  typical.  The  theory  upon  which  his 
biography  is  presented  in  Judges  seems  to  be  that  possession  by  the 
spirit  is  the  explanation  of  his  character  and  exploits.  In  the  24th  verse 
of  the  13th  chapter  we  read  the  account  of  his  birth;  in  the  following  verse 
is  related  the  fact  that "  the  spirit  of  God  began  to  move  him  in  Mahaneh- 
dan,  between  Zorah  and  Eshtaol;  and  in  the  next  the  author  at  once 
plunges  into  the  narrative  of  his  accomplishments. 

The  names  of  many  spiritual  agencies  are  mentioned.  Among  them 
are  Satan,^^  Azazel/^  the  serinij  "hairy  ones"  or  " satyrs, "^^  and  Ra- 
hab.69 

Contact  between  men  and  spiritual  powers  could  be  set  up  in  various 
ways.  The  spirit  simply  "came  upon"  or  "entered  into"  a  person,  as 
in  the  case  of  Samson,  in  Judg.  13:25  and  14:6.  In  Num.  11:27  Moses, 
acting  as  a  medium,  seems  to  transmit  some  of  the  spirit  with  which  he  is 
endowed  to  the  seventy  elders.  II  Kgs.  2 :9  ff .  relates  that  a  doulbe  por- 
tion of  EHjah's  spirit  passes  over  to  Elisha  when  he  sees  the  former 
mysteriously  taken  from  the  earth;  and  //  Kgs.  13:14  iff.  tells  us  that 
Elisha,  on  his  death-bed,  attempts,  by  the  laying  on  of  hands,  to  impart 
it  to  Joash  the  King  who  proves  to  be  unreceptive.  Ecstacy  induced  by 
processionals,  dancing,  and  the  music  of  cymbals,  psaltries,  and  harps 
appears  to  have  played  a  large  part  in  procuring  possession,  as  is  illus- 
trated in  the  cases  of  the  various  bands  of  prophets  above  alluded  to;  and 
in  one  instance,  recorded  in  //  Kgs.  3:15  ff.,  "the  hand  of  Yahweh"  came 
upon  EUsha  while  a  minstrel  played,  and  the  prophet  began  immediately 
to  foretell  the  future.  Anointing  by  a  priest  seems  also  to  have  been 
efficacious.  Thus  in  /  Sam.  16:13,  Samuel  the  priest  took  a  horn  of  oil 
and  anointed  David,  "and  the  spirit  of  God  came  upon  him  mightily  from 
that  day  forward."  In  the  opinion  of  many  Old  Testament  scholars 
ritual  eating  and  drinking  formed  yet  another  method  of  securing  divine 
potency.  When  one  ate  "with"  the  god,  the  consumption  of  common 
food  guaranteed  that  the  same  kind  of  life  coursed  in  the  veins  of  both.^° 
The  feast  of  Moses  and  the  seventy  elders  on  the  top  of  the  mountain, 

«5/w<fg.,  3:10;  6:34;  11:29.  'o  W.  Robertson  Smith,  Relig.  of 

^  Job,  1:6  ff.  the  Semites,  2  ed.,  Lect.  II,  pp.  29  ff.; 

"  Lev-,  16.  Burton,  J.  M.  P.  Smith,  G.  B.  Smith, 

"  Isa.,  34:14;  cf.  13:14.  Bib.  Idea  of  Atonement,  pp.  1,  2. 
^Usa.,  11:9;  Job,  9:13;  26:12;  86; 
P5.,  89:10. 


50  DIVINE  MANIFESTATIONS  IN  NEW  TESTAMENT  TIMES 

described  in  Gen.  24:11  ff.,  was  "with"  Yahweh;  and  in  /  Sam.  1:9  the 
eating  and  drinking  by  Hannah  and  Elkanah  in  Shiloh  probably  had 
some  special  significance.  The  prohibition  of  Lev.  17:11  undoubtedly 
refers  to  a  Hebrew  custom  of  partaking  of  raw  flesh  and  blood  because 
there  was  divine  "life"  in  it.  Indeed,  according  to  W.  Robertson 
Smith's  interpretation,  as  set  forth  in  The  Religion  of  the  Semites,  the 
whole  Hebrew  sacrificial  system  had  as  object  the  participation  in  the 
life  of  deity  by  means  of  ritual  eating  and  drinking.  Here  also  may  be 
classed  the  use  of  holy  or  sacred  waters.  Smith,  in  the  work  just  re- 
ferred to,  pp.  150  ff.,  holds  that  the  \aew  that  divine  potency  could  be  in- 
fused by  contact  with  the  water  of  sacred  springs  or  streams  is  the  uni- 
versal accompaniment  of  a  certain  stage  of  culture.  Naaman's  ablu- 
tions in  the  Jordan,  described  in  //  Kgs.  5:10  ff,,  certainly  may  be  thus 
interpreted;  and  if  it  be  held  that  his  leprosy  was  due  to  demoniacal 
possession,  the  sacred  bath  not  only  infused  divine  life  but  it  also  exor- 
cised undesirable  spiritual  agencies.  /  Sam.  16:15,  23  relates  that  the 
music  of  David's  harp  drove  away  Saul's  evil  spirit  whenever  it  troubled 
him.  Still  other  methods  were  productive  of  results  in  Josephus'  day. 
In  the  Antt.  viii.  2.5  he  relates  the  procedure  followed  by  a  skilful  exorcist. 
The  practitioner  Eleazer,  repeating  an  exceedingly  efficacious  formula 
bequeathed  to  posterity  by  Solomon  and  employing  also  a  certain  magi- 
cal herb,  took  an  iron  ring  and  drew  the  demon  out  of  the  possessed  one's 
nose.  The  spirit,  departing,  gave  visible  proof  of  its  exit  by  overturning 
a  basin  of  water  between  the  victim  and  the  door.  Acts  19:13  ff.  speaks 
of  a  band  of  strolling  Jewish  exorcists;  and  in  Mk.  3:22-30,  together  with 
the  parallels  in  Mt.  12:23ff.  and  Lk.  ll:14ff.,  are  indications  that  the 
Jews  of  the  New  Testament  period  assumed  that  the  name  of  one  spiritual 
agency  could  be  employed  in  the  casting  out  of  another. 

Christians  of  the  New  Testament  period  were  conscious  of  as  close 
and  intimate  relations  with  supernatural  powers  as  were  their  Jewish 
and  Hellenistic  neighbors.  Spirits  sometimes  "came  upon"  them,  and 
at  others  "entered  into"  them.  Mk.  1:10,  Lk.  3:21,  and  Mt.  3:16  tell  us 
that  the  spirit  as  a  dove  came  down  from  heaven  "upon"  Jesus,  and  in 
Jn.  1:32,  33  gives  us  the  additional  information  that  it  "remained"  with 
him.  The  readers  of  /  Peter  are  told  in  4:14  that  it  "rested  on"  them. 
In  some  circles  this  external  connection  between  individuals  and  spiritual 
agencies  was  broadened  into  the  notion  that  a  person  could  be  completely 
enveloped  by  supernatural  potency.  Thus  the  author  of  the  Apocalypse 
tells  us  in  1:10,  4:2,  17:3  and  21:1  that  he  was  "m  the  spirit"  on  various 


DIVINE  MANIFESTATIONS  IN  NEW  TESTAMENT  TIMES  51 

occasions,  and  Lk.  1:17  predicts  that  John  the  Baptist  shall  perform  his 
allotted  task  "in  the  spirit  and  power  of  Elijah."  Paul  often  employs 
the  same  thought.  In  //  Cor.  12:2  he  says:  "I  know  a  man  in 
Christ  .  .  . ";  in  Phil.  1 :14  he  mentions  "brethren  in  the  Lord";  and  in 
//  Cor.  5 :17  he  states  that "  If  any  man  be  in  Christ,  he  is  a  new  creature. " 

On  the  other  hand,  supernatural  powers  often  operated  from  within 
the  individual.  In  the  case  of  the  Gerasene  demoniac  the  spirit  came 
out  of  the  man  and  entered  into  the  swine.  Peter  asked  Ananias,  "Why 
hath  Satan  filled  up  thy  heart  to  he  to  the  Holy  Ghost?"  Satan  sent  a 
messenger  to  trouble  Paul  in  the  flesh. "^^  Acts  2:4  speaks  of  a  group  of 
early  Christians  all  of  whom  became  "filled  with  the  Holy  Spirit."  A 
variety  of  expressions  are  employed  in  setting  forth  this  view.  The 
spirit  "enters  into, "  "dwelleth  in, "  "is  in, "  "liveth  in, "  "is  formed  in, " 
"is  magnified  in"  individuals. '^^ 

An  immediate  accompaniment  of  possession  in  many  instances  was  an 
ecstatic  state  which  manifested  itself  in  different  ways.  When  the  spirit 
came  upon  the  Christian  group  described  in  the  early  chapters  of  the 
Acts,  the  total  effect  produced  by  the  phenomenon  upon  a  large  portion 
of  the  onlookers  was  to  convince  them  that  it  had  been  caused  by  over- 
indulgence in  wine.  In  the  Corinthian  church  possession  seems  to  have 
produced  mental  conditions  resulting  in  unusual  displays.  If  it  may  be 
assumed  that  Paul  associated  his  reception  of  the  spirit  with  his  experisnce 
on  the  Damascus  road,  the  immediate  effect  upon  him  was  one  of  great 
mental  and  physical  agitation  covermg  several  days;  but  however  this 
may  be,  possession  produced  in  him,  on  other  occasions,  according  to 
//  Cor.  12:2  ff.,  reactions  which  he  himself  could  only  incoherently 
describe.  The  whole  impression  left  on  one  by  the  references  of  the  writer 
of  the  Apocalypse  to  his  experiences  while  in  the  spirit  is  the  conviction 
that  they  were  too  overwhelming  for  words. 

But  ecstacy  was  not  the  only  effect  produced  by  spiritual  agencies, 
whether  they  operated  from  within  or  from  without.  Any  attempt  at 
classification  will  necessarily  draw  lines  of  distinction  where  the  ancients 
perhaps  had  no  thought  of  drawing  them,  but  for  the  sake  of  convenience, 
we  may  speak  roughly  of  effects  touching  the  body  and  of  those  touching 
the  mind.     Deafness,  dumbness,  blindness,  possibly  rheumatism,  fits 

'^Mk.,  5:8  ff.;  Acts,  5:3;  //  Cor.,  ''^  Rev.,  11:11;  Rom.,  8:9,  10,   11; 

12:7.  Sam.,  4:5;  Gal.,  2:20;  Phil.,  1:20. 


52  DIVINE  MANIFESTATIONS  IN  NEW  TESTAMENT  TIMES 

and  seizures,  perhaps  fever,  and  other  physical  afflictions  not  specifically 
described,  such  as  "destruction  of  the  flesh,"  "buffeting  of  the  body," 
and  "sickness,"  were  all  attributed  to  the  activity  of  spirits.  Spiritual 
agents  produced  even  death  itself.'^^  wSuch  agencies  compelled  men  to 
make  journeys  or  not  to  make  them.  The  pregnancy  of  the  mother  of 
Jesus  was  thus  explained.  It  is  thus  that  Jesus  was  driven  into  the 
wilderness,  and  in  a  similar  manner  Paul  was  restrained  from  making  his 
long  cherished  visit  to  the  Thessalonians.  Philip  the  Evangelist  was  on 
one  occasion  snatched  away  by  a  spirit  and  transported  to  another  place.''^ 
The  mental  stress  and  tension  in  temptation  was  produced  by  the 
activity  of  spirits.  They  caused  men  to  lie,  and  set  all  manner  of  wiles 
for  their  destruction.^^  Powers  or  miracles,^^  healings,^^  ecstatic  speech, 
tongues,  unfamihar  dialects,^^  prophecy  and  preaching  the  word  with 
power,^^  discerning  of  spirits,  interpretation  of  tongues,^*^  all  are  due  to 
spiritual  beings  acting  on  or  in  the  individual.  In  I  Cor.  12:8  ff.  Paul 
makes  "word  of  wisdom,"  "word  of  knowledge,"  and  "faith"  due  to 
this  cause;  and  elsewhere,  especially  in  Eph.  5:9  and  Gal.  5:19-22,  "godli- 
ness, righteousness,  truth"  and  "love,  joy,  peace,  longsuffering,  kindness, 
goodness,  faithfulness,  meekness,  self-control"  are  said  to  be  "fruits  of 
the  spirit "  in  contrast  to  a  long  list  of  "  fruits  of  the  flesh. "  Still  another 
effect  produced  for  many  Christians  of  the  time  by  indwelling  spiritual 
potency  was  a  reahstic  union  with  deity.  This  phase  of  possession  was 
especially  emphasized  in  PauHne  and  Johannine  circles.  Among  these 
Christians  the  spiritual  agency  concerned  in  possession  was  sometimes 
spoken  of  as  "  the  Spirit, "  "  the  spirit  of  the  Lord, "  the  "  spirit  of  Christ," 
the  "spirit  of  God,"  "Holy  Spirit,"  and  the  "Paraclete,"  but  Httle 
real  distinction  was  made  among  them.  Paul  says  in  //  Cor.  3:17:  "the 
Lord  is  the  Spirit."     When  the  spiritual  agency  thus  variously  described 

^Mk.,  9:17,    25;    ML,   9:20,    22;  ''^  Acts,  \Z:9;  I  Thess.,  2:9;  I  Cor., 

12:22;   Lk.,   4:38;   9:39;    13:11,    16;   I  12:8  ff. 
Cor.,  5:5;  11;30; // Cor.,  12:7.  -"Acts,  9:33;  10:40;  /  Cor.,  12:8, 

'^Mk.,    1:12;   Mt.,  4:1;   Lk.,  4:1;  17. 
cf.  Jn.,  3:24;  I  Thess.,  2:18;  Acts,  8:  '» ikf/fe.,  %:2;   Mt.,   8:28,    39;    Lk., 

39  f.  8:27,  32;  Acts,  2:4  ff.;  /  Cor.,  12:8  ff. 

''^  Mk.,   1:13;   Mt.,  4:1;  Lk.,  4:2;  "J^  Acts,   2:14  ff.;    16:16;   /    Thess., 

Acts,  5:3;  Eph.,  6:11;  cf.  Acts,  26:18;  1:5;  /  Cor.,  2:4  ff.;  12:8  ff. 
7/ Cor.,  2:11.  ^^  I  Cor.,  12:10. 


DIVINE  MANIFESTATIONS  IN  NEW  TESTAMENT  TIMES  53 

came  into  contact  with  an  individual,  the  result  was  "life."  "if  Christ 
is  in  you,"  says  Paul  in  Rom.  8:10,  "the  body  is  dead  .  .  .  but  the 
spirit  is  life  ...  if  the  Spirit  dwelleth  in  you,  he  that  raised  up  Christ 
Jesus  from  the  dead  shall  give  life  also  to  your  mortal  bodies  ..."  In 
the  Apocalypse,  11:11,  we  are  told  of  bodies  dead  three  days  and  a  half 
which  were  raised  to  life  when  a"  spirit  of  life  from  God  entered  into  them." 
In  Jn.  6:63  the  spirit  "giveth  Hfe";  m  Galatians  2 :20  Christ  "Uveth"  in 
Paul;  and  in  /  Cor.  12 :4  Christ  is  described  as  "  a  life-giving  spirit. "  The 
view  is  summed  up  in  II  Cor.  5 :17 :  "  If  any  man  be  in  Christ,  he  is  a  new 
creature."  The  "newness"  consists  in  the  effect  produced  by  the  ac- 
quirement of  a  divine  increment  foreign  to  man  by  nature.  Before 
possession  occurred,  man  was  simply  man ;  after  it  had  taken  place,  man 
was  man  plus  a  supernatural  insert  which  henceforth  became  a  constituent 
part  of  his  being.  He  was  now  a  "new  creature, "  a  Spirit-man,  a  Christ- 
man,  a  God-man,  a  compound  of  the  divine  and  the  human.  Thus  par- 
taking of  the  nature  of  deity,  it  was  inevitable  that  man's  Ufe  should  be 
in  kind  like  deity's;  that  is,  immortal. 

The  effects  of  possession  for  the  Christians  of  the  New  Testament 
period  were  thus  felt  in  every  sphere  in  which  their  interest  centered,  in 
the  state  of  their  bodily  health,  in  their  life  as  individuals  and  as  a  com- 
munity, and  in  the  realm  of  their  eternal  destiny. 

Christians  had  at  hand  various  methods  of  securing  possession  when 
desirable.  In  Jn.  14:16  the  spirit  is  to  be  sent  upon  the  community  in 
response  to  Christ's  prayer;  in  Lk.  11:13  it  is  stated  that  the  Father  will 
"give  the  holy  spirit  to  them  that  ask  him."  In  Jn.  20:22  Jesus 
"breathes  (the  spirit)  into"  his  disciples,  which  term  is  regular  classical 
Greek  usage  for  the  blowing  of  the  breath  into  a  flute.  The  formalized 
account  of  the  occurrences  on  the  day  of  Pentecost  presented  in  Acts 
2 :1  ff .  seems  to  imply  that  the  spirit  was  poured  out  upon  the  community 
while  it  was  engaged  in  some  form  of  worship,  possibly  prayer.  It  is 
possible  that  Paul  associated  his  reception  of  it  with  his  so-called  con- 
version. ^^  It  took  possession  of  others  while  they  listened  to  Christian 
preaching,^2  ^^d  still  others  underwent  the  experience  at  the  laying  on  of 
hands. ^2  To  hold  a  faith  consisting  of  the  items,  Jesus  is  Lord,  and  God 
raised  him  from  the  dead,  undoubtedly  in  the  mind  of  Paul  went  a  long 

"  Acts,9:l  ff.;  Gal.,  1:15,  16.  «  A^ts,  8:14  ff.;  9:17;  12:12  ff. 

«2Ga/.,   3:2;  /    Thess.,    1:6;   Acts, 
10:44;  11:15. 


54  DIVINE  MANIFESTATIONS  IN  NEW  TESTAMENT  TIMES 

way  in  establishing  the  union  between  man  and  deity  resulting  in  salva- 
tion. According  to  Jn.  20:30  a  faith  of  similar  content  is  productive  of 
"life":  "...  these  things  are  written  that  ye  may  believe  that  Jesus 
is  the  Christ  the  Son  of  God;  and  that  believing  ye  may  have  life  in  his 
name. "  Baptism  and  the  Lord's  Supper  also  played  an  important  part. 
The  synoptic  gospels  relate  that  the  spirit  came  upon  Jesus  while  his 
baptism  was  in  progress.  In  Acts  2:38,  as  well  as  in /Cor.  12:12  ff.,  its 
reception  is  closely  associated  with  baptism.  In  the  latter  passage  the 
rite  is  realistically  described  as  an  actual  "drinking"  of  the  spirit. 
Christians,  all  of  whom  are  baptized  "in  one  spirit,"  possess  a  common 
bond  uniting  each  to  the  other  and  all  to  deity,  namely,  the  divine  potency 
absorbed  in  undergoing  the  baptismal  rite.  The  efficacy  of  the  Lord's 
Supper  was  no  less  real.  The  view  of  the  Pauline  circle  on  this  question 
is  set  forth  in  /  Cor.  8:1-13  and  10:16-28.  While  commentators  on  these 
passages  are  somewhat  at  variance,  a  fair  interpretation  is  that  Paul 
believed  that  spiritual  potency  coald  be  secured  by  partaking  of  food  at 
the  table  of  deity,  just  as  his  gentile  and  Hebrew  contemporaries  held. 
In  fact,  this  assumption  underhes  the  entire  argument.  Paul  does  not 
raise  the  question  whether  such  agencies  may  thus  be  taken  into  the 
system;  he  takes  this  for  granted  and  is  of  the  opinion  that  his  readers 
hold  the  same  presuppositions.  The  matter  uppermost  in  his  mind  is, 
when  one  partakes  of  spiritual  potency  in  this  way,  what  kind  of  a  divine 
increment  is  he  absorbing?  Is  the  spiritual  agency  good  or  bad?  Paul's 
answer  is  categorical:  in  the  communion  meals  partaken  of  with  idols 
evil  spiritual  agencies  are  introduced  into  the  communicant,  but  in  eating 
at  the  "table  of  the  Lord"  the  potency  secured  is  of  a  beneficial  sort. 
The  former  produces  sickness  and  death;  the  latter  results  in  life.  One 
could  perhaps  become  possessed  against  his  will.  In  /  Cor.  5 :5  Paul 
speaks  of  "delivering"  a  person  over  to  Satan  "for  the  destruction  of 
the  flesh, "  reminding  one  of  the  reference  above  quoted  from  Deissmann. 
In  common  with  the  Jews  and  the  Graeco-Romans,  Christians  were 
able  to  rid  themselves  of  spiritual  agencies  if  their  influence  was  regarded 
as  detrimental.  In  the  synoptic  gospels  Jesus  became  possessed  at 
baptism  of  a  spirit  more  powerful  than  all  other  spirits,  and  is  thus  in  a 
position  to  employ  a  superior  power  against  inferior  ones.  The  demons 
recognize  the  situation  and  are  in  most  cases  tractable.  The  Jews  accuse 
Jesus  of  using  the  spirit  of  Beelzebub  in  his  exorcisms,^  but  Mt.  12:28 

s^ilfyfe.,  3:29;  Mt.j   12:3,   16;  Lk., 
12:10. 


DIVINE  MANIFESTATIONS  IN  NEW  TESTAMENT  TIMES  55 

makes  Jesus  say  it  is  the  spirit  of  God,  while  the  parallel  in  Lk.  11:20 
states  that  it  is  the  finger  of  God.  Many  Christians  found  the  name  of 
Jesus  exceedingly  effective  in  this  connection.  In  Acts  3:6  Peter  em- 
ployed it  in  exorcising  a  demon  of  lameness,  and  in  16:18  ff.  Paul  finds  it 
effective  in  driving  out  a  spirit  of  divination.  When  the  name  was  used 
by  those  not  authorized  to  employ  it,  the  results  were  sometimes  disas- 
trous. Thus  the  strolling  exorcists  of  yld^  19 :13,  when  they  attempted  by 
it  to  ehminate  a  demon,  found  it,  to  say  the  least,  ineffective  in  their 
hands.  This  circumstance  convinced  many  at  Ephesus,  both  Jews  and 
Greeks,  of  the  power  resident  in  the  name,  with  the  result  that  "  the  name 
of  the  Lord  Jesus  was  magnified. " 


CHAPTER  VI 
The  Prophet 

The  prophet  constituted  one  of  the  principal  channels  through  which 
supernatural  manifestations  came  to  the  people  of  the  Mediterranean 
world. 

In  the  social  economy  of  the  time  the  prophet  filled  an  important 
and  honored  place.  Strabo,  xvi.  2.39,  says  that  the  ancients,  as  well  as 
the  people  of  his  own  day,  entertained  for  them  a  feeling  of  respect,  and 
that  among  the  Hindus,  Persians,  Assyrians,  Greeks,  and  Romans  they 
were  so  highly  regarded  as  to  be  thought  worthy  of  thrones.  Numerous 
references  in  Uterature  from  Homer  downward  look  in  the  same  direction; 
and  with  this  generally  compHmentary  attitude  corresponds  the  estimate 
of  Plato,  in  the  Fhaedrus,  245  A,  to  the  effect  that  prophetic  madness, 
instead  of  being  evil,  "is  a  divine  gift  and  the  source  of  the  chief  est 
blessings  granted  to  mankind,"  and  that,  in  particular,  the  prophetesses 
at  Dodona  and  Delphi  ''have  conferred  great  blessings  on  Hellas." 

The  regard  of  the  ancient  world  for  its  prophets  was  of  course  rooted 
in  the  notion  of  their  value  to  society.  This  value  lay  in  the  fact  that 
the  prophet  was  the  medium  by  means  of  which  deity  transmitted  to 
men  information  not  otherwise  obtainable.  The  prophet  was  the  official 
spokesman  or  mouthpiece  of  deity.  Owing  to  the  existence  of  a  special 
relation  between  him  and  the  supernatural  powers,  he  was  in  a  position 
more  readily  than  other  men  to  secure  this  information. 

Two  ways  in  which  the  prophet  came  into  possession  of  exclusive 
knowledge  may  be  distinguished:  he  was  taught  of  God,  or  possessed  by 
God.  In  the  first  instance,  he  entered  into  the  presence  of  deity  and  by 
a  species  of  personal  communion  obtained  the  information  which  the 
heavenly  powers  desired  to  give  to  men;  in  the  second,  deity  either 
attached  himself  to  the  prophet  externally  or  entered  into  him,  the 
connection  being  such  that  the  prophet  speaking  became  deity  speaking. 
It  is  not  to  be  supposed  that  clear  distinctions  between  these  two  ways  in 
which  the  official  spokesmen  of  deity  secured  their  information  can 
always  be  made,  or  that  in  the  minds  of  the  ancients  such  lines  of  demarca- 
tion were  in  all  instances  drawn. 


DIVINE  MANIFESTATIONS  IN  NEW  TESTAMENT  TIMES  57 

The  prophet  taught  of  god  was  exceedingly  familiar  both  among  the 
Graeco-Romans  and  among  the  Jews.  '^By  the  advice  of  the  goddess 
Egeria"  Numa  "taught  them  (the  Romans)  sacred  rites  and-ceremonies 
and  the  whole  worship  of  the  immortal  gods  .  .  .  instituted  the  pon- 
tiffs, augurs,  Salii,  and  other  sacerdotal  offices  .  .  .  divided  the  year  into 
twelve  months,  and  the  days  into  those  for  legal  business  and  for  vaca- 
tion .  .  .  appointed  the  sacred  shields  and  the  image  of  Pallas,  as 
certain  secret  pledges  of  empire;  and  ordered  the  temple  of  double-faced 
Janus  to  be  the  S3anbol  of  peace  and  war  .  .  .  assigned  the  fire  of  Vesta 
to  the  care  of  virgins,  that  its  flame  might  constantly  burn,  in  imitation 
of  the  stars  of  heaven,  as  a  guardian  of  the  empire  ...  in  process  of  time 
he  brought  that  uncivilized  people  to  such  a  condition  that  they  managed 
with  piety  and  justice  a  government  which  they  had  acquired  by  violence 
and  oppression."^  The  notion  that  information  productive  of  all  the 
arts  of  civilization  thus  came  to  men  through  divinely  instructed  media- 
tors, was  current  in  the  Mediterranean  world.  Sometimes,  however,  the 
prophet  taught  of  deity  was  not  accredited  with  the  handing  down  of 
knowledge  as  comprehensive  in  scope  as  this.  In  many  instances  liis 
work  consisted  in  the  transmission  of  some  specific  item  of  information. 
Tjrpical  of  the  prophet  mediating  a  particular  body  of  instruction  is  the 
figure  of  the  ancient  lawgiver. 

Moses  received  his  legislation  directly  from  the  hand  of  Yahweh  him- 
self, and  passed  it  on  to  the  Hebrews.  In  an  earlier  age,  Hammurabi 
transmitted  to  his  people  a  body  of  laws  which  Shamesh  the  Sun  God  had 
dehvered  to  him,  as  the  Babylonian  ruler  himself  tells  us  in  fines  95  ff. 
of  the  epilogue  of  his  famous  Code.  Pictorial  representations  of  Shamesh 
in  the  act  of  handing  the  completed  roll  of  law  to  the  king  formed  a 
favorite  subject  in  Babylonian  art.  A  reproduction  of  a  Babylonian 
artist's  conception  of  the  transaction  may  be  seen  in  the  frontispiece  of 
Harper,  Code  of  Hammurabi.  So  also  Zoroaster  holds  converse  with 
Ahura  Mazda  and  secures  from  him  information  beneficial  to  the  ancient 
Persians,  according  to  the  Zend-Avesta,  Yasht  13.1  and  20;  8.57 ;  Vendidad, 
19.11-26.  On  one  occasion,  recorded  in  Yasht  17.  17-22,  the  goddess 
Ashi  Vanguhi  met  him,  and  Zoroaster,  leaning  against  her  chariot,  was 
instructed  at  length  on  various  subjects  relatmg  to  the  public  good. 

The  people  of  the  Graeco-Roman  world,  were  Ukewise  acquainted 
with  the  divinely  instructed  mediator  of  law.     Strabo,  writing  probably 

^  Florus,  Epitome,  i.  2. 


58  DIVINE  MANIFESTATIONS  IN  NEW  TESTAMENT  TIMES 

in  the  time  of  Augustus,  states  that  more  respect  was  entertained  for 
divine  than  for  human  law,  and  that  Delphi  and  Dodona  were  depended 
upon  for  legislation.  He  further  informs  us  that  Minos,  entering  into 
the  presence  of  Zeus,  received  from  him  a  body  of  law  and  passed  it  on 
to  the  Cretans.^  Herodotus,  i.65 ,  relates  a  similar  transaction  in  reference 
to  Sparta.  Lycurgus  went  to  Delphi  to  consult  Apollo.  The  god  told 
him  through  the  pythoness  that  he  entertained  strong  suspicions  that 
Lycurgus  himself  was  divine  and  "dehvered  to  him  the  entire  system  of 
laws  which  are  still  observed  by  the  Spartans. "  In  Uke  manner  Apollo 
gave  Solon  laws  for  Athens,  and  Numa  was  divinely  taught  concerning 
his  legislation  for  Rome.^ 

Christians  of  the  New  Testament  period  regarded  Christianity  as  a 
"royal"  or  "regal"  body  of  ''law,"^  as  a  new  covenant  displacing  the 
old.^  They  likewise  presented  Jesus  under  the  aspect  of  a  new  and  divine- 
ly instructed  lawgiver,  in  contradistinction  to  the  lawgivers  of  ancient 
times.  Jesus  was  worthy  of  more  honor  than  Moses,®  for  the  reason 
that,  while  Moses  mediated  the  old  law,  Jesus  transmitted  a  new  covenant 
of  "grace  and  truth. "^  This  contrast  between  Jesus  and  the  ancients 
is  made  especially  prominent  in  such  places  as  Mt.  5:20,  22,  26,  28,  32, 
34,  39,  44,  where  the  regular  formula,  "it  was  said  to  them  of  old  time, 
but  I  say  unto  you, "  sets  up  the  authority  of  Jesus  in  opposition  to  that 
his  predecessors.  It  is  also  worthy  of  note  in  this  connection  that,  just 
as  the  law  of  Moses  was  given  in  five  books,  so  the  new  "law"  of  Jesus  is 
in  Matthew's  gospel  presented  in  five  sections,  each  closing  with  the  set 
phrase,  "when  he  had  finished  these  sayings"  or  "parables"  or  "teach- 
ing" (7:28;  11:1;  13:53;  19:1;  26:1).  The  term  Uyos  is  frequently 
employed  to  designate  the  utterances  of  Jesus,^  and  the  same  expression 
is  used  by  classical  Greek  writers  not  only  to  denote  a  divine  revelation, 
as  in  Plato,  Fhaedo,  78  D,  but  also  in  reference  to  responses  made  by  the 
oracles,  as  in  Pindar,  Pythian  Odes,  iv.  105  (cf.  Plato,  Phaedrus,  275  B). 
In  a  similar  manner  emphasis  is  placed  upon  his  didaxv-  It  is  "new" 
and  "amazing,"  is  administered  with  " authority, "and  is  not  his  own 
but  has  been  given  him.  directly  by  God.^ 

2  Strabo,  xvi.  2.  38,  39.  ^  ML,     15:2;     19:11,     22;     28:15; 

3  Plutarch,   Solon,    14;    Numa.   4;       Mk.,  7:29;  8:32;  9:10,  32;  10:22;  Lk., 
F\or\is,ibid.,l2.  1:29;  2:17;  9:45;  18:34;  Jn.,  4:37,  42; 

*Jas.,  2:8.  6:60;  7:36,  40;  8:51;  15:20;  18:19;  19:8; 

»  Rom.,  9:4;  Gal.,  4:24.  21:23,  etc. 

«  Heb.,  3:3.  »  Mk.,  1:22,  27;  Jn.,  7:15-17. 

^Jn.,  1:17. 


DIVINE  MANIFESTATIONS  IN  NEW  TESTAMENT  TIMES  59 

The  prophet  possessed  by  deity  differs  from  the  prophet  taught  of 
deity  in  that,  while  the  latter's  work  often  consisted  in  a  single  act,  such 
as  mediating  once  and  for  all  a  specific  body  of  laws  or  the  knowledge 
necessary  to  produce  a  civihzation,  the  work  of  the  former,  theoretically 
at  least,  never  ceased.  Prophetic  possession,  inasmuch  as  it  was  of  a 
more  or  less  permanent  nature,  enabled  the  prophet  to  act  as  a  continuous 
channel  of  divine  communication. 

In  the  chapter  on  divine  possession  we  considered  the  process  by 
which  such  a  prophet  is  made.  In  the  present  chapter  our  concern  is 
with  the  possessed  individual  in  his  speaking  function.  The  prophet 
speaking  played  two  conspicuous  parts  in  the  life  of  the  ancient  world, 
both  of  which  may  be  regarded  as  specialized  phases  of  his  more  general 
task  of  acting  as  the  mouthpiece  of  deity  in  the  transmission  of  exclusive 
information.  The  prophet  exhorted  and  predicted.  Looked  upon  as  a 
predictor  of  the  future,  the  prophet  may  be  regarded  not  only  as  bringing 
revelation  down  to  date  but  as  actually  carrying  it  forward  into  the 
future.  It  must  not,  however,  be  supposed  that  preaching  and  fore- 
telling the  future  were  functions  limited  to  this  second  class  of  prophets. 

On  Graeco-Roman  soil  the  prophet  speaking  was  met  with  on  nearly 
every  hand.  The  Iliad,  i.  59  ff.,  relates  that  the  Greeks,  alarmed  at  the 
obstacles  Apollo  was  heaping  in  their  path,  called  upon  Calchas  the  seer 
for  an  explanation  of  that  "which  with  such  deadly  wrath  Apollo  fires." 
Calchas  is  described  as  "some  prophet,  or  some  priest,  or  some  wise 
vision- seer  .  .  .  the  chief  of  seers,  to  whom  were  known  the  present  and 
the  future  and  the  past,"  whose  "mystic  art"  is  "Apollo's  gift."  In 
making  answer  to  Achilles'  request,  the  prophet,  speaking  on  behalf  of 
the  god,  makes  the  Greeks  promise  to  restrain  all  violence  if  the  truth  to 
be  forthcoming  should  happen  to  be  unpleasant.  With  this  assurance 
granted,  Calchas," the  unerring  prophet,"  with  conviction  points  out 
that  it  is  not  for  neglected  ritual  acts,  such  as  sacrifice,  that  the  deity  is 
incensed,  but  that  his  wrath  is  wholly  due  to  the  fact  that  a  maiden  had 
been  wrongfully  abducted.  "On  this  account,"  announces  he,  "the 
Far-destroyer  sends  this  scourge  and  pestilence,  and  yet  will  send;  nor 
shall  we  cease  his  heavy  hand  to  feel,  till  to  her  sire  we  give  the  bright- 
eyed  girl,  unbought,  unransomed.  ..."  The  pronouncement  of  the 
prophet  caused  consternation,  not  to  say  the  violent  denunciation  of 
him  by  Agamemnon,  who  desired  to  keep  the  girl.  Yet  it  was  decided 
to  send  her  back  to  her  father.    A  feature  of  the  proceeding  is  the  "  thus 


60  DIVINE  MANIFESTATIONS  IN  NEW  TESTAMENT  TIMES 

saith  Apollo"  spirit  in  which  Calchas,  conscious  that  his  advice  will  cut 
across  the  grain  of  prevailing  opinion,  nerves  himself  fearlessly  to  bear 
the  storm  of  denunciation  which  his  words  call  forth.  In  this  instance  the 
predictive  and  hortatory  elements  are  blended;  in  some  examples  to  follow 
prognostication  predominates.  Suetonius  relates  that  two  prophets  fore- 
told the  future  of  the  Emperor  Augustus.  ''Upon  the  day  he  was  born, 
the  senate  being  engaged  in  a  debate  on  Catiline's  conspiracy,  and 
Octavius  (the  future  emperor's  father),  in  consequence  of  his  wife's  being 
in  child-birth,  coming  late  into  the  house,  it  is  a  well-known  fact  that 
Publius  Nigidius,  upon  hearing  of  his  coming  so  late,  and  of  the  hour  of 
his  wife's  delivery,  declared  that  the  world  had  got  a  master. "  Later  in 
the  emperor's  Hfe,  together  with  a  friend,  he  visited  Theogenes  the 
astrologer  in  his  gallery  on  the  roof,  and  Theogenes  foretold  his  coming 
elevation  to  divine  rank.^^  Lucan,  in  the  Pharsalia,  vii.  192  ff.,  relates 
that  at  the  very  moment  the  battle  between  Caesar  and  Pompey  was  in 
progress  at  PharsaHa,  an  augur  "sitting  on  the  Euganean  hill"  near 
Patavium,  now  Padua,  exclaimed:  "The  critical  day  has  come,  a  com- 
bat most  monstrous  is  being  waged,  the  impious  arms  of  Pompey  and 
Caesar  are  meeting."  According  to  Sallust,  Jugurthine  War,  63,  64, 
73,  and  84,  a  prognosticator  correctly  foretold  to  Caius  Marius  the  for- 
time  which  was  to  befall  him.  While  he  was  at  Utica,  assisting  Metellus 
against  Jugurtha,  the  prophet  stated  "  that  great  and  wonderful  things 
were  presaged  to  him  and  that  he  might  pursue  whatever  designs  he  had 
formed,  trusting  the  gods  for  success;  and  that  he  might  try  fortune  as 
often  as  he  pleased,  for  that  all  his  undertakings  would  prosper  ...  an 
ardent  longing  for  the  consulship  possessed  him,"  and,  although  lack  of 
noble  family  was  in  the  way,  he  persevered  through  all  obstacles,  left 
Africa,  won  his  way  in  Rome,  and  finally  "the  consulship,  after  a  lapse 
of  many  years"  was  given  to  him,  and  he  was  also  made  commander  in 
the  war  against  Jugurtha,  Metellus  being  recalled.  Philostratus,  in 
chapter  two  of  the  first  book  of  his  Life  of  Apollonius  of  Tyana,  relates 
that  Socrates,  in  virtue  of  his  demon,  was  looked  upon  by  many  as  a 
foreteller  of  future  events,  and  that  Anaxagoras,  while  at  Olympia,  pro- 
phesied on  a  clear  day  a  shower  which  a  little  later  occurred,  foretold  the 
falling  down  of  a  house  some  time  before  the  event,  and  that,  in  "pre- 
dicting that  day  would  turn  into  night  and  that  stones  would  fall  down 

"Suet,  ^wg.,  94. 


DIVINE  MANIFESTATIONS  IN  NEW  TESTAMENT  TIMES  61 

from  heaven  about  the  river  Aegos,  he  told  true. "  Apollonius  himself 
also  was  able  to  predict  the  future.  In  chapter  sixteen  of  the  same  book 
Philostratus  relates  that,  upon  his  arrival  in  Babylon  with  a  companion, 
he  immediately  proclaimed  that  their  stay  in  that  place  would-  be  one 
year  and  eight  months,  and  that  the  result  was  in  accord  with  the  prog- 
nostication. 

Hesiod,  who,  as  we  have  noticed  elsewhere,  claimed  the  Muses  had 
endowed  him  with  the  prophetic  gift,  foretells,  in  lines  174  ff.  of  Works 
and  Days,  the  future  of  the  fifth  race  of  men.  Other  poets,  especially 
those  of  the  Roman  world  just  prior  to  the  rise  of  Christianity,  were  deeply 
concerned  in  prophesying  a  coming  deliverance  from  the  evils  of  the  day. 
Virgil,  addressing  PoUio,  wrote  in  the  fourth  Ecologue:  "While  thou  art 
consul,  this  glory  of  our  age  shall  dawn."  The  poet  looked  for  the 
coming  of  relief  in  the  person  of  a  divinely-sent  ruler  whom  he  calls  "  the 
mighty  seed  of  Jove."  Under  his  sway  the  "earth  .  .  .  shall  pour 
forth  everywhere  without  culture  .  .  .  the  goats  of  themselves  shall 
convey  homeward  their  udders  distended  with  milk  .  .  .  the  serpent 
shall  perish. "  The  new  ruler  shall "  bring  peace  to  the  world, "  and  Virgil 
prays  that  soon  he  may  enter  his  "great  heritage,  for  the  time  is  at 
hand."^^  Some  years  later,  when  Virgil  wrote  the  Aeneid,  he  seemed  to 
feel  that  his  prediction  was  finding  its  fulfilment  in  the  career  of  Augustus. 
In  lines  788  ff .  of  the  sixth  book  he  says :  "  This,  this  is  the  man  whom  you 
have  often  heard  promised  to  you,  Augustus  Caesar,  offspring  of  a  god, 
who  shall  estabHsh  a  golden  age  in  Latium,  through  those  lands  where 
Saturn  reigned  of  old. "  And  then  follows  a  prognostication  of  Augustus' 
career,  which  is  far  to  overshadow  that  of  Bacchus  or  Hercules. 

Prognostication  in  relation  both  to  individuals  and  to  society  often 
played  a  more  immediately  effective  part  than  in  the  instances  just 
enumerated.  Croesus,  when  he  became  apprehensive  of  the  growing 
power  of  the  Persians,  consulted  numerous  prophetic  shrines,  among 
them  Delphi,  Dodona,  and  Ammon,  as  to  how  the  menace  could  be 
averted,  and  " at  the  receipt  of  the  oracular  replies"  he  "was  overjoyed, 
feeling  sure  that  he  would  now  destroy  the  empire  of  the  Persians. " 
The  Lacedaemonians,  on  the  advice  of  the  Delphian  prophetess,  on  one 
occasion  sent  an  army  to  Athens  to  drive  out  the  Pisistratidae, "  albeit 
they  were  bound  to  them  by  the  closest  ties  of  friendship,  for  they  es- 
teemed the  things  of  heaven  more  highly  than  the  things  of  men."" 

"  cp.  TibuUus,  i.  3;  cf.  i.  11.  ^^  Herod,  i.  46-54;  v.  63. 


62  DIVINE  MANIFESTATIONS  IN  NEW  TESTAMENT  TIMES 

When  Hannibal  was  threatening  Rome  and  all  Italy,  the  senate,  according 
to  Livy,  xxiii.  11,  obtained  by  messenger  information  from  Delphi  which 
would  enable  them  to  save  the  state.  The  same  shrine  often  imparted 
valuable  advice  in  matters  of  colonization.  Callimachus,  in  lines  53  ff. 
of  his  Hymn  to  Apollo,  mentions  a  hst  of  seven  or  eight  cities  founded 
at  the  direction  of  this  deity.  Lucan  remarks  that  while  the  help  of 
Apollo  was  highly  regarded  in  the  matters  of  stopping  pestilence,  giving 
protection  in  war,  and  making  the  earth  to  yield,  the  information  granted 
to  prospective  emigrants  was  one  of  his  main  claims  to  recognition.^^ 
Prophets  also  granted  information  which  was  valuable  in  the  case  of 
sickness.  Plutarch  relates  that  Telesilla,  a  resident  of  Argos, ''had  a 
sickly  body;  she  sent  to  consult  the  oracle  concerning  her  health;  answer 
was  made  that  she  must  become  a  servant  of  the  Muses  .  .  .  she 
obeyed  .  .  .  applying  herself  to  poetry  and  music,  and  her  distempers 
left  her  .  .  . "  to  such  a  degree  that  later  she  led  an  army  of  her  fellow- 
citizens  and  "beat  off  Cleomones  with  the  slaughter  of  many  of  his 
men."i4 

While  the  information  derived  from  prophets  thus  frequently  related 
to  poHtical  matters  and  to  those  immediately  affecting  the  life  of  the 
individual,  direction  from  them  was  also  regarded  as  valuable  in  the 
sphere  of  religion.  As  an  illustration  of  this  may  be  cited  the  installation 
of  the  Cybele-Attis  cult  at  Rome,  on  the  advice  of  the  prophetess  at 
Delphi.^^  Prophetic  women  were  by  no  means  unusual.  Several  are 
mentioned,  for  example,  in  Pausanius,  x.12.5,  and  another  in  Tacitus, 
History,  iv.61;  cf.  Germ.  8. 

As  was  noticed  above,  in  the  case  of  Calchas  the  seer,  prognostication 
can  not  at  all  points  be  separated  from  the  second  main  function  of  the 
speaking  prophet,  namely,  exhortation  or  preaching.  In  the  first  cen- 
tury, however,  this  phase  of  prophetic  activity  was  especially  marked  on 
Graeco-Roman  soil.  The  philosophic  missionary  of  the  period  is  the 
classical  exponent  of  this  form  of  activity.  His  message  was  essentially 
a  message  of  reform,  sometimes  of  society  as  a  whole,  sometimes  of  the 
individual,  and  often  of  both  together;  but  wherever  the  emphasis 
chanced  to  be  placed,  his  concern  was  with  the  evils  from  which  man 
suffered  and  with  the  means  whereby  release  could  be  secured.  In 
general,  it  may  be  said  that  the  philosophic  preacher  pointed  out  to  man 

"  Pharsalia,  v.  102  ff.  is  Ljyy^  xxix,  10  ff. 

"  The  Virtues  of  Women,  4. 


DIVINE  MANIFESTATIONS  IN  NEW  TESTAMENT  TIMES  63 

God's  will  for  him  and  for  the  world,  drew  a  striking  contrast  between 
life  as  man  was  living  it  and  as  God  desired  him  to  Hve  it,  and  urged  in 
hortatory  discourse  that  the  individual  forsake  his  evil  ways  and  live 
the  ideal  life.  This  philosophical  gospel  and  its  exponents"~form  too 
large  a  subject  to  be  discussed  here.  The  student  is  directed  for  further 
information  on  the  point  to  the  chapter  on  "The  Religious  Significance  of 
Philosophical  Speculation"  in  Cases's  The  Evolution  of  Early  Christianity  y 
and  to  the  first  three  chapters  of  book  three  of  Dill's  Roman  Society  from 
Nero  to  Marcus  Aurelius,  entitled  respectively  "The  Philosophic  Direc- 
tor, "  "The  Philosophic  Missionary, "  and  "The  Philosophic  Theologian. " 
Valuable  material  may  also  be  found  in  Arnold's  Roman  Stoicism  and  in 
Zellar's  volume  on  the  Stoics  and  allied  schools. 

Typical  of  all  these  philosophical  preachers  was  the  Cynic-Stoic 
exhorter.  The  true  Cynic  preacher  is  "a  messenger  sent  from  Zeus  to 
men"  to  tell  them  that  they  have  wandered  far  from  the  right  way  and 
are  seeking  happiness  where  it  can  not  be  found.  He  is  "  the  pedagogue 
of  the  pubHc"  to  lead  men  to  God.  True  preaching  lay  not  alone  in 
exhortation  by  word  of  mouth  but  in  example  and  precept  also.  The 
true  Cynic  could  point  to  himself  as  without  home  or  wife  or  children, 
without  a  city,  without  possessions,  with  nowhere  to  lay  his  head,  having 
forsaken  all  to  follow  an  ideal.  He  may  have  no  part  in  the  government 
of  an  earthly  state,  because,  as  a  "spy  and  herald"  of  God  whose  business 
it  is  to  rebuke  men,  the  concerns  of  temporal  administration  are  of  less 
importance  than  the  moral  fortunes  of  the  whole  commonwealth  of  man. 
He  will  love  those  who  despitefuUy  use  him;  he  will  be  a  brother  to  all; 
he  will  take  pride  in  the  strength  of  his  physical  body,  which  is  the  gift 
of  temperance  and  of  long  days  passed  under  the  open  sky.  Above  all, 
he  will  have  a  conscience  clearer  than  the  sun,  so  that,  at  peace  with 
himself  and  having  a  confident  assurance  of  the  friendship  of  deity,  he 
may  speak  with  all  boldness  to  a  needy  world.^^ 

How  widely  this  message  was  being  preached  at  the  beginning  of  our 
era  a  reading  of  the  discussions  cited  above  will  show.  Even  a  Lucian, 
who  held  a  Cynic  in  contempt  and  sought  to  discredit  him  whenever 
occasion  offered,  furnishes  testimony  not  only  to  the  fact  that  multitudes 
rushed  to  hear  these  moral  preachers  but  also  that  their  influence  was 
very  great.^^    Their  courage  in  denouncing  sin  is  almost  startHng.  Once, 

"  Epictetus,  Diss.,  ii.  22;  cf.  Dill,  "Lucian,  Death  of  Peregrinus,  3, 

op.  cit.  pp.  259  ff.  4,  5,  6,  7,  etc. 


64  DIVINE  MANIFESTATIONS  IN  NEW  TESTAMENT  TIMES 

when  Titus  was  in  the  theatre,  with  the  Jewess  Bernice  by  his  side,  a 
Cynic  preacher  gave  voice  in  a  long  and  bitter  denunciation  to  popular 
feeling  against  the  shameful  union.  This  Cynic  John  the  Baptist  got  off 
with  only  a  scourging,^^  but  a  comrade  named  Heros  repeated  the  experi- 
ment and  lost  his  head,  while  on  another  occasion  Peregrinus  for  a  similar 
attack  on  Antoninus  Pius  was  quietly  warned  by  the  authorities  to  retire 
from  Rome.^^ 

While  Philostratus'  Life  of  Apollonius  of  Tyana  may  be  a  romance, 
there  yet  may  be  behind  the  narratives  it  contains  a  basis  in  fact  to  give 
it  probability,  and  the  preaching,  at  least,  of  Apollonius  seems  to  belong 
to  the  world  of  reaHty.  He  had  a  conception  of  a  unique  and  mystic 
relation  with  God  which  undoubtedly  accounts  for  the  assurance  with 
which  he  delivered  his  message.^^  He  preached  a  higher  morahty.  From 
the  steps  of  temples  he  criticized  great  audiences  for  their  faults.  In  the 
parable  of  the  sparrow  who  by  its  twitter  called  its  fellows  to  a  heap  of 
spHt  grain  he  taught  the  gospel  of  brotherly  love  to  the  Ephesians;  to 
Smyrna,  torn  by  factions,  he  preached  a  revival  of  public  spirit;  an  Olym- 
pian crowd,  intent  on  racers,  boxers,  and  athletes,  he  addressed  on  the 
subjects  of  wisdom,  courage,  and  temperance;  at  Rome  under  the  tyrrany 
of  Nero,  he  moved  from  temple  to  temple,  exciting  a  religious  revival  by 
his  preaching.  One  of  his  texts,  as  Dill  remarks,  contains,  perhaps,  a 
truth  for  all  time:  "My  prayer  before  the  altars  is.  Grant  me,  ye  Gods, 
what  is  my  due.  "^^ 

There  are  on  record  well-attested  cases  of  conversion  as  the  result  of 
pagan  preaching.  Polemon,  a  rich  and  dissolute  Athenian  youth,  while 
on  his  way  from  some  revel,  stumbled  with  his  companions  into  the  lecture 
room  of  Zenocrates,  who  was  preaching  on  temperance.  The  tipsy 
youth  Hstened  for  a  while,  and,  when  conviction  struck  him,  flung  away 
his  garland  and  with  it  his  evil  ways.  He  became  the  head  of  the  Acad- 
emy.22  Apollonius  on  one  occasion  was  the  agent  through  whom  a  similar 
change  was  wrought.  A  debauched  young  man  of  Corcyra  came  under 
his  influence,  and,  as  a  result,  was  reclaimed  to  a  better  life.  He  is  also 
reported  to  have  accomplished  a  somewhat  similar  conversion  in  the  case 
of  his  own  brother. ^^ 

"  Dion  Cass.,  Ixvi.  15.  22  j)iog   Laer.,  iv.  3.  1;  Dill,  ihid.y 

19  Cited,  Dill,  ihid.,  p.  363.  pp.  347. 

^^V\)i\ost.,  A  poll.,  Tyana,  V.2S.  23  p^iiostr.,  ^M^.    Tyana,   iv.  20. 

2i/&fJ.,  iv.  3,  8,  31,  41;  i.  11;  iv.  cf.i.  10  and  13. 
40;Dill,iHi.,  pp.  346,  7. 


DIVINE  MANIFESTATIONS  IN  NEW  TESTAMENT  TIMES  65 

Thus  the  pagan  prophet,  whether  taught  of  God  or  inspired  by  him, 
revealed  to  men  the  will  of  deity.  He  was  God's  spokesman.  Epictetus 
calls  him  *'  the  herald  and  spy"  of  God,  " the  messenger  of  Zeus"  toymen. 
And  it  can  not  be  doubted  that  the  prophets  and  preachers  themselves 
bore  about  with  them  the  conviction  that  God  actually  spoke  in  and 
through  them.  Just  as  the  Hebrew  prophet  could  say,  "Thus  saith  the 
Lord,"  so  the  pagan  in  a  similarly  close  relation  to  deity  could  exclaim: 
"Thus  hath  God  ordained. "2^ 

On  Semitic  soil  the  prophet  speaking  played  an  equally  important  role. 
We  are  fortunate  here  in  being  able  to  refer  to  numerous  works  having 
to  do  with  the  Semitic  and  Hebrew  prophets.  Most  of  the  encyclopaedias 
contain  articles  on  the  subject.  The  reader  is  referred  especially  to  the 
one  on  "The  Prophet  and  Prophecy"  in  Hastings'  Dictionary  of  the 
Bible  for  a  treatment  of  Old  Testament  prophecy.  For  a  more  compre- 
hensive handling  of  the  problem,  both  in  breadth  of  view  and  in  the 
amount  of  space  devoted,  attention  is  called  to  J.  M.  Powis  Smith's 
The  Prophet  and  His  Problems.  In  this  volume  Professor  Smith  considers 
the  Hebrew  speaking-prophet  in  relation  to  his  other  Semitic  contem- 
ries  and  predecessors  in  the  same  field,  and  calls  attention  to  the 
influence  exerted  by  his  predictions  and  his  exhortations  in  both  poUtical 
and  individual  hfe.  Much  valuable  non-Bibhcal  material  illustrative  of 
prophecy  and  prophets  in  Eg3^t,  Byblos,  Pergamus,  and  Babylonia  is 
here  made  easily  accessible  to  the  Enghsh  reader.  The  book  is  also 
valuable  for  its  citation  of  much  material  contained  in  French  and  Ger- 
man and  not  employed  in  the  text  itself  for  lack  of  space. 

A  few  typical  Old  Testament  cases  of  predicting  the  future  may  be 
cited.  A  man  of  God  tells  EH  his  two  sons  will  die  on  the  same  day,  as 
they  actually  did.  Samuel  tells  Saul  that  the  lost  asses  have  been  found. 
Micaiah  ben  Imlah  predicts  disaster  for  Ahab.  Amos  foretells  the  dis- 
grace and  slaughter  of  the  family  of  Amaziah  the  priest  and  the  exile  of 
Amaziah  himself.  Isaiah  predicts  the  downfall  of  Ephraim  within 
sixty-five  years,  if  the  text  be  correctly  preserved.  It  is  said  that  Jere- 
miah foretold  the  death  of  his  opponent  Hananiah  within  the  ensuing 
year,  and  that  Hananiah  died  within  about  two  months.  Ahijah  the 
Shilonite  foretold  the  exact  moment  of  the  death  of  Jereboam's  son  Abi- 
jah.    EHsha  predicted  the  death  of  Benhadad  and  the  consequent  acces- 

^  Xenophon,  Cyropaedia,  ii.  3.  4. 


66  DIVINE  MANIFESTATIONS  IN  NEW  TESTAMENT  TIMES 

sion  of  Hazael  his  murderer.^^  In  addition  to  such  predictions  of  specific 
events,  the  prophet  frequently  announced,  often  in  a  more  or  less  vague 
and  cloudy  way,  general  destruction  or  deliverance.  Amos,  for  example, 
to  quote  Professor  Smith,  "first  threatens  Israel  with  a  certain  fearful, 
fiery  form  of  destruction"  to  be  inflicted  by  Yahweh.  Later  "he  seems 
to  have  decided  on  some  invading  army  as  Yahweh's  agent  of  destruction. 
Apparently  he  expected  the  blow  to  fall  almost  immediately,  but  Samaria 
stood  about  forty  years  longer.  Hosea  reiterated  the  same  message  of 
destruction,  seeming  to  vacillate  between  Assyria  and  Egypt  as  the  execu- 
tors of  Yahweh's  wrath.  Jeremiah  shared  the  same  view  in  his  early 
ministry,  but  later  came  to  see  that  Babylonia  was  the  chosen  instrument 
of  punishment  in  Yahweh's  hands.  "^^  In  a  somewhat  similar  manner, 
according  to  the  story  of  Josephus,  War,  vi.6,  "  one  Jesus,  the  son  of  Ana- 
nus,  a  plebeian  and  a  husbandman, "  foretold  the  destruction  of  Jerusalem 
some  years  before  it  occurred  in  70a.d.  This  prophet,  while  the  city  was 
at  peace  and  in  the  enjoyment  of  every  prosperity,  suddenly  took  up  his 
cry  of  "  Wo,  wo  to  Jerusalem. "  "  This  cry, "  says  Josephus,  "  was  loudest 
at  the  festivals,  and  he  continued  this  ditty  for  seven  years  and  five 
months,  without  growing  hoarse,  or  being  tired  therewith,  until  he  saw 
his  presage  fulfilled  in  earnest  in  our  siege. "  As  the  Romans  stormed 
the  city,  the  prophet,  still  calling  his  lament,  was  killed  by  a  stone  from 
one  of  the  engines. 

In  addition  to  foretelling  the  future,  the  prophet  on  occasion  gave 
advice  respecting  matters  of  bodily  health.  It  was  thus  that  Naaman 
was  directed,  according  to  //  Kgs.  5:17  if.,  to  bathe  in  the  Jordan.  Nor 
were  female  prophets  wanting  among  the  Hebrews  any  more  than  among 
the  Greeks  and  Romans.  Ex.  15 :20  places  Miriam  in  this  role.  Others 
are  mentioned  in  Judg.  4:4,  //  Kgs.  22:14;  cf.  //  Chron.  34:22,  and  Is.S:3. 
Luke  2:36  mentions  Anna  ''the  prophetess."  An  interesting  reference 
to  the  work  of  the  prophet  is  found  in  /  Mace.  4 :46.  When  the  desecrated 
altar  in  Jerusalem  was  replaced  by  a  new  one,  the  polluted  stones  fur- 
nished a  problem.  They  finally  were  temporarily  disposed  of  by  bury- 
ing, until  a  prophet  should  arise  who  could  tell  what  ought  to  be  done 
with  them. 

26/5aw.,  2:34;  4:11;  10:2;  J  i^g^.,  ^  Proph.   and   His   Problems,   pp. 

22:28;  Amos,  7:17;  Is.,  7:8;  Jer.,  28:      97  f. 
16  f.;  /  Kgs.,  14:12,  17;  //  Kgs.,  8:10- 
15;  Smith,  pp.  87  fif. 


DIVINE  MANIFESTATIONS  IN  NEW  TESTAMENT  TIMES  67 

As  an  exhorter  and  preacher  the  Hebrew  prophet  occupies  a  place  of 
enviable  distinction.  Their  work  in  this  respect  is  too  familar  to  require 
discussion  here.  Various  aspects  are  illustrated  in  the  famous  and 
courageous  "Thou  art  the  man"  of  Nathan  to  the  adulterous  David,  in 
the  political  activity  exerted  by  EHjah,  Elisha,  Isaiah,  Zephaniah,  Eze- 
kiel,  Deutero-Isaiah,  Haggai,  Zechariah,  and  in  the  individualism  of 
Ezekiel,  who,  Hke  the  Cynic  preachers  of  a  later  age,  defined  his  mission 
as  that  of  caring  for  the  souls  of  individuals  each  of  whom  sustains 
his  own  independent  relations  to  Yahweh.^^ 

Strabo,  as  was  related  above,  informs  us  that  the  people  of  his  own  and 
of  preceding  ages  regarded  the  prophet  so  highly  as  to  esteem  him  worthy 
of  a  throne.  Christians  of  the  New  Testament  period  seem  also  to  have 
entertained  a  similarly  exhalted  notion  of  his  value.  Paul,  for  example, 
placed  him  in  the  very  forefront  of  important  personages  in  the  Christian 
community,  ranking  him  second  only  to  apostles;  and  while  his  direction 
that  women  keep  silent  in  church  undoubtedly  indicates  his  desire  to  keep 
the  community  free  from  Christian  Sibyls  and  Pythonesses,  there  is  evi- 
dence that  other  Christian  circles  entertained  no  such  scruples.^^  The 
number  of  prophets  in  the  church  must  have  been  considerable.  Acts 
2:17,  basing  its  conclusion  on  a  passage  from  the  prophecy  of  Joel,  points 
out  that  all  Christians,  both  men  and  women,  shall  be  prophets.  Paul, 
however,  seems  to  feel  that  if  all  Christians  attempt  to  exercise  the 
gift,  the  discipline  of  the  church  will  suffer,  and,  accordingly,  he  urges  the 
Corinthians  to  be  mindful  of  other  charismata  as  well.^^  The  "false" 
prophets  mentioned  in  various  places  in  the  New  Testamenfi^  furnish 
another  indication  that  the  desirability  of  the  office  invited  numbers  to 
assume  the  role.  In  addition,  we  meet  with  prophets,  in  quite  an  inciden- 
tal way,  as  regular  functionaries  in  some  of  the  larger  churches,  as  in  those 
of  Jerusalem  and  Antioch.^^ 

The  New  Testament  conception  of  the  work  of  a  prophet  is  brought 
out  in  several  places.  In  Lk.  7:39  we  are  told  that  a  Pharisee  who  wit- 
nessed the  anointing  of  Jesus'  feet  decided  he  was  no  prophet  because  he 
apparently  did  not  know  in  some  occult  way  "what  manner  of  woman  this 


"//  Sam.,  12:1-7;  /  Kgs.,  19:16 
II  Kgs.,  9:1  fiE;  Is.,  7:16;  14:28;  1:2-17 
22:1-14;  7:12-18:6;  Ezek.,  3:16-21;  18:4 


28  £/,^.,  4:11;  /  Cor.,  14:34;  Acts, 
21:8,9;22et;.,  2:20. 
2»/  Cor.,  12:4-29. 


5:20;  Smith,  Proph.  and  His  Problems,  ^^  ML,    7:15;    24:11;   /   Jn.,    4:1; 

pp.  137-208.  13:16;  /  Jn.,  4:1;  Rev.,  16:3;  19:20. 

^' Acts,  11:27;  13:1. 


68  DIVINE  MANIFESTATIONS  IN  NEW  TESTAMENT  TIMES 

is  that  toucheth  him."  In  Jn.  4:19  the  Samaritan  woman  calls  Jesus  a 
prophet  because  he  reads  the  truth  about  her  matrimonial  ventures 
through  her  He,  and  in  9:17  the  blind  man  designates  him  a  prophet 
because  he  had  opened  his  eyes.  Paul's  view  of  the  prophet's  place  in  the 
community  is  not  so  much  concerned  with  these  phases  of  his  activity  as 
with  his  function  as  an  edifier  and  an  exhorter.  Yet  it  may  be  said  that 
Christians  of  the  New  Testament  period  lost  sight  neither  of  the  pre- 
dictive nor  of  the  hortatory  elements  in  prophetic  activity. 

The  foreteUing  function  of  Christian  prophets  is  somewhat  prominently 
brought  forward.  It  is  at  least  partially  from  this  point  of  view  that  the 
writers  of  the  four  gospels  look  upon  the  work  of  John  the  Baptist.  He 
foretells  the  coming  of  the  Messiah.^^  The  discourse  of  Peter,  as  recorded 
in  ^c/5  3:12  ff.,  presents  Jesus  in  the  guise  of  a  prophet,  and  the  synoptic 
gospels  in  several  places  put  emphasis  on  predictions  made  by  him. 
Certain  predictive  elements,  for  example,  are  found  in  the  words  of  Jesus 
as  recorded  in  Mt.  10:5-40;  and  in  the  eschatological  discourse  material 
common  to  the  three  a  prominent  place  is  given  to  the  forecasting  of  the 
future.  Moreover,  Jesus  is  represented  as  predicting  his  death  by 
crucifixion  in  Jerusalem.^^  In  Jn.  4:50  Jesus'  announcement  to  the 
nobleman  that  his  son  lives,  contains,  possibly  not  an  element  of  predict- 
tion  but  at  least  a  display  of  supernatural  knowledge.  The  Magnificat 
and  the  Benedictus  in  the  first  chapter  of  Luke  have  a  forward  look. 
Acts  11:28  brings  out  clearly  the  fact  that  the  prediction  of  a  universal 
famine  made  by  the  Jerusalem  prophet  Agabus  while  on  a  visit  to  the 
church  at  Antioch  actually  "came  to  pass  in  the  days  of  Claudius." 
Agabus  also,  according  to  Acts  21:11,  foretells  Paul's  coming  arrest. 
Paul  also  undertook  on  occasion  to  give  his  hearers  glimpses  into  the 
future.  In  /  Thess,  4:14  ff.  he  gives  his  readers  a  brief  outline  of  what 
is  to  occur  at  the  parousia.  "This  we  say  unto  you,"  he  remarks,  "by 
the  word  of  the  Lord. "  In  //  Thess.  2:1  £f.  he  enhghtens  his  readers  still 
further,  presenting  more  details;  and  in  /  Cor.  15:50ff.  is  another  pro- 
phecy on  the  same  general  theme.  There  is  little  doubt  that  early 
Christians  looked  upon  the  written  words  of  the  prophet  of  the  Apocalypse 
as  an  accurate  description  of  future  events. 

The  prophet  as  an  exhorter  and  preacher  is  accorded  large  place  in  the 
New  Testament.     In  Paul's  view,  as  expressed  in  /  Cor.  14:1  ff.,  this  phase 

^^Mk.,    1:1  flf.;    Mt.,    3:1  ff.;    Lk.,  '' Mk.,    10:32  ff.;    ML,    20:17  ff.; 

3:16;  Jn.,  1:26.  Lk.,lS:3lS. 


DIVINE  MANIFESTATIONS  IN  NEW  TESTAMENT  TIMES  69 

of  the  prophet's  work  is  given  chief  place  among  all  the  various  activities 
of  spiritually  endowed  persons  in  the  church.  The  prominence  accorded 
exhortation  by  Paul  is  due  to  the  fact  that  he  regards  "exhortalion"  as 
''edifying "to  the  church.  For  this  reason  he  would  rather  that  the  Cor- 
inthians should  prophesy  than  speak  with  tongues,  for  when  a  man  speaks 
with  tongues  he  speaks  only  to  himself  and  God,  unless  he  or  someone  else 
interpret,  but  if  he  exhort,  no  interpreter  is  needed,  as  the  voice  is  not 
''uncertain,"  and  the  church  is  in  consequence  edified.  In  this  passage 
Paur implies  that  he  himself  is  given  to  exhortation.  "I  thank  God,  I 
speak  with  tongues  more  than  you  all;  howbeit,  in  church  I  had  rather 
speak  five  words  with  my  understanding,  that  I  might  instruct  others  also, 
than  ten  thousand  words  in  a  tongue. "  In  various  other  connections  we 
read  of  exhortation  in  connection  with  prophetic  activity.  Thus  Judas 
and  Silas,  sent  by  the  Jerusalem  church  to  the  one  at  Antioch  with  the  de- 
cision of  the  mother  church  on  the  question  of  the  admission  of  gentiles, 
"being  themselves  also  prophets,  exhorted  the  brethren  with  many 
words  "  after  they  had  dehvered  the  epistle.^* 

In  many  Christian  circles  the  preaching  and  teaching  activity  of  Jesus 
was  regarded  in  this  light.  Mt.  13:2j0f.  refers  to  an  occasion  on  which 
Jesus  from  a  boat  spake  many  things  in  parables  to  a  "great  multitude" 
which  "  stood  on  the  beach. "  The  Sermon  on  the  Mount  was  undoubted- 
ly regarded  as  a  typical  discourse  of  Jesus.  Various  parts  of  Paul's  epist- 
les are  perhaps  to  be  taken  as  epitomes  of  his  utterances  in  public  address, 
as  for  example  /  Cor.  15:1  ff.,  which  contains  a  summary  of  the  "gospel" 
preached  to  the  Corinthians.  The  Acts  is  rich  in  what  purports  to  be 
specimens  of  hortatory  address  delivered  by  prominent  individuals  in  the 
early  church.  Such  are  Peter's  sermon  at  Pentecost,  his  address  from  Sol- 
omon's porch,  Stephen's  defence,  Peter's  remarks  after  his  vision  of  the 
clean  and  the  unclean,  his  justification  of  his  conduct  before  the  officials  of 
the  Jerusalem  church,  Paul's  sermon  in  the  synagogue  at  Antioch  of  Pis- 
idia,  his  oration  in  Athens,  his  address  following  his  rescue  from  the 
Jerusalem  mob,  and  his  defence  before  Agrippa.^^  Acts  8:32  informs  us 
that  on  one  occasion  Philip  used  Isa.  53 :7  ff.  as  a  text  for  one  of  his  exhor- 
tations. It  is  possible  that  in  the  Epistle  of  James  we  have  preserved  a 
written  record  of  some  early  Christian  preacher's  exhortation  on  ques- 

^Mdj,  15:34.  ^Acts,    2:14  ff.;    3:12  ff.;    7:1  ff.; 

10:34ff.;     ll:4ff.;     13:16ff.;     17:22ff.; 
22:2  ff.:     26:2  ff. 


70  DIVINE  MANIFESTATIONS  IN  NEW  TESTAMENT  TIMES 

tions  of  practical  ethical  significance.  One  phase  of  John  the  Baptist's 
work  was  exhortation  to  repentance,  according  to  the  report  of  his 
career  contained  in  the  synoptic  gospels. 

The  work  of  the  Christian  prophet  thus  concerned  itself  with  the  same 
interests  as  did  that  of  his  contemporaries  and  predecessors  on  Hebrew 
and  Hellenistic  soil,  namely,  those  of  the  individual  and  of  the  social  group 
in  the  realms  both  of  their  material  and  spiritual  or  ethical  welfare. 


CHAPTER  VII 

Portents 

In  a  supernaturalistic  view  of  the  universe  which  conceives  the  relation 
between  deity  and  the  world  in  terms  of  providence,  all  phenomena  in 
nature,  from  the  growth  of  corn  in  a  field  to  the  movement  of  the  planets, 
convey,  as  we  have  seen  in  Chapter  II,  the  information  that  divine 
forces  are  at  work  in  nature.  In  the  present  chapter  we  are  to  consider 
those  events  in  the  external  world  which,  in  addition  to  this  general- 
meaning,  have  for  the  beholder  a  special  message  of  their  own.  The  an- 
cients applied  to  these  particular  occurrences  such  names  as  portents, 
prodigies,  omens,  and  signs. 

There  seems  to  have  been  no  hard  and  fixed  rule  among  the  Mediter- 
ranean people  for  determining  what  events  were  prodigies  or  portents  and 
what  were  not.  In  so  far  as  distinctions  were  made,  they  appear  to  have 
been  based  on  the  uniqueness  of  the  occurrence:  all  events  in  nature  were 
manifestations  of  supernatural  powers,  but  unique  events  had  a  unique 
and  special  meaning.  The  uniqueness  of  a  happening  could  lie  in  its 
own  peculiar  nature  or  character,  or  in  the  time  or  other  circumstances 
attending  its  occurrence.  At  the  same  time,  many  natural  phenomena 
which  to  moderns  present  no  unusual  aspects  whatever,  such  as  lightning, 
were  invested  with  peculiar  significance.  A  statue  which  sweat  blood 
would  of  course  at  all  times  attract  attention.  Ordinarily  such  a  phe- 
nomenon as  the  bark  of  a  dog  would  not  demand  investigation;  but  if  it 
occurred  as  one  were  about  to  set  out  on  a  journey,  or  on  the  morning  of 
the  day  one  were  to  assume  the  duties  of  a  new  office,  the  probability 
was  that  the  gods  intended  to  convey  some  important  information. 
Deity  sent  the  sign;  the  only  part  man  needed  to  play  was  to  interpret  it. 

In  general,  the  people,  of  the  ancient  world  recognized  three  more  or 
less  distinct  classes  of  portents  or  signs.  There  were  first  those  of  a 
celestial  character,  in  which  are  included  astrological  and  planetary  hap- 
penings, and  pecuHar  aspects  of  the  heavens.  A  second  general  group 
consisted  of  what  may  be  called  terrestrial  portents  or  signs,  made  up 
largely  of  the  ordinary  phenomena  of  nature,  such  as  thunder,  lightning, 
the  flight  of  birds,  the  actions  of  animals,  the  falling  of  rain,  or  the  phases 


72  DIVINE  MANIFESTATIONS  IN  NEW  TESTAMENT  TIMES 

of  the  growth  of  plants  and  trees.  Still  another  kind  of  omen  may  be 
specified,  namely,  the  purely  miraculous  occurrence,  such  as  shields  or 
statues  sweating  blood,  or  the  appearance  of  two  moons  simultaneously 
in  the  daytime.  The  Mediterranean  peoples,  of  course,  made  no  sharp 
distinctions,  and  lines  are  drawn  here  only  for  the  purposes  of  conven- 
ience in  the  arrangement  of  material.  It  will  be  observed  in  the  examples 
given  below  that  in  various  instances  a  given  phenomenon  could  be  in- 
cluded in  more  than  one  of  the  above  three  groups. 

Celestial  signs  or  portents  were  of  extreme  interest  to  the  Greeks  and 
the  Romans.  Cumont's  work.  Astrology  and  Religion  Among  the  Greeks 
and  Romans,  certain  parts  of  HalHday's  Greek  Divination,  the  chapter 
entitled  ''The  World  Around"  in  Granger's  The  Worship  of  the  Romans, 
and  the  pertinent  sections  in  Dill  and  Friedlander,  may  be  cited  as  worthy 
of  study  in  this  connection.  These  works  make  clear  the  general  thesis 
that  the  Hellenistic  world  of  the  first  century,  as  well  as  of  those  preceding 
and  following,  held  that  various  phases  of  the  moon,  the  situation  and 
conjunction  of  the  planets,  eclipses,  comets,  aerohtes,  halos,  etc.,  all 
mediated  divine  knowledge  to  man. 

A  few  typical  examples  may  be  given.  Among  other  portents  indi- 
cating the  Roman  subjugation  of  Egypt  about  30  b.c,  such  as  statues 
frowning  and  the  bellowing  and  shedding  of  tears  by  the  bull  Apis, 
"comet  stars,"  relates  Dion  Cassius,  H.17,  "came  frequently  into  view." 
The  same  author  in  lxiv.8  tells  us  that  during  the  time  of  Vitellius  trouble 
was  presaged  for  the  state  by  the  following  heavenly  occurrences:  "a 
comet  star  was  seen,  and  the  moon  contrary  to  precedent  had  two 
eclipses  .  .  .  people  saw  two  suns  at  once,  one  in  the  west  weak  and  pale, 
and  one  in  the  east  brilliant  and  powerful."  About  79  a.d.  "a  comet 
star  which  was  seen  for  a  considerable  period"  indicated  the  approaching 
death  of  Vespasian;  and  shortly  after  the  death  of  Caesar  a  similar 
phenomenon  indicated  to  the  Romans  that  he  had  been  elevated  to 
heavenly  rank.  "A  certam  star  through  all  those  days  (those  following 
Caesar's  death)  appeared  in  the  north  toward  evening  ...  the  majority 
ascribed  it  to  Caesar,  interpreting  it  to  mean  that  he  had  become  a  god. " 
Augustus  was  so  far  persuaded  of  the  truth  of  the  information  conveyed 
that  "he  set  up  a  bronze  statue  of  him  with  a  star  above  his  head. "^ 
But  not  only  was  Caesar's  deification  indicated  by  the  heavenly  bodies; 
before  his  death  the  orb  of  the  sun  had  been  pale  throughout  the  whole 

^  Dion  Cass.,  Ixvi.  17;  xlv.  7. 


DIVINE  MANIFESTATIONS  IN  NEW  TESTAMENT  TIMES  7d> 

year,  pointing  to  his  approaching  dissolution  ;2  and  on  the  very  day  of  his 
funeral  the  appearance  of  a  new  and  strange  star  acquainted  the  world 
with  the  fact  of  the  exit  of  one  age  and  the  dawn  of  another.^  __Sylla  the 
astrologer  a  few  days  before  the  assassination  of  Caligula  declared  that  the 
stars  showed  "  that  death  would  unavoidably  and  speedily  befall  him.  "'* 
After  the  murder  of  Caesar,  the  elevation  of  Augustus  to  the  imperial 
dignity  was  foretold  by  the  appearance  "on  a  sudden,  in  a  clear  and 
bright  sky"  of  "a  circle  resembling  a  rainbow,"^  calling  to  mind  the 
statement  of  Homer,  elsewhere  quoted  in  this  discussion,  that  the  gods 
set  the  rainbow  in  the  sky  as  a  sign  to  mortal  man.  Tacitus,  History, 
i.22;  Annals,  vi.  20,  21;  Plutarch,  Galba,  23;  and  various  sections  in 
Suetonius,  Lives  of  the  Caesars,  are  typical  references  indicating  the  popu- 
larity and  importance  which  the  people  of  the  age  attached  to  messages 
mediated  by  means  of  celestial  phenomena. 

Only  a  few  illustrations  of  terrestrial  portents  need  be  presented. 
According  to  Pliny,  NaturalHistory,  ii.81,  the  Etruscan  Scriptures  taught 
that  nine  deities  sent  eleven  kinds  of  hghtning,  of  which  three  came  from 
Jove.  Cyrus  of  Persia,  before  starting  to  the  relief  of  his  uncle  Cyaxeres, 
hard  pressed  by  the  Assyrians,  "prayed  to  Hestia  and  Zeus  and  to  all  the 
gods  of  his  father's  house  who  had  watched  over  his  race  .  .  .  he  set  out 
for  the  war  and  his  father  went  with  him  on  the  road.  They  were  no 
sooner  clear  of  the  city  .  .  .  than  they  met  with  favorable  omens  of 
thunder  and  lightning,  and  after  that  they  went  foward  without  further 
divination,  for  they  felt  that  no  man  could  mistake  the  signs  from  the 
ruler  of  the  gods.  "^  To  show  that  Augustus  was  about  to  become  em- 
peror, lightning  struck  the  tomb  of  Juha,  Caesar's  daughter.^  Thunder 
foretold  the  death  of  Titus.  As  he  was  offering  sacrifice,  "loud  thunder 
was  heard  while  the  atmosphere  was  serene";  and  a  Uttle  later  he  died.^ 
The  terrible  earthquake  at  Antioch  about  1 14  a.d.,  according  to  Dion  Cas- 
sius,  lxviii.24,  was  preceded  by  violent  thunder  and  "portentious"  winds, 
"  but  no  one  expected  that  as  many  evils  would  come  from  them. "  Other 
portents  were  seen  in  the  flight  of  birds,  especially  eagles,^  the  croak  of  a 

2Livy,  xliv.  37;  cf.  Pliny,   11.  iv.  '^  Suet.,  ^wg.,  95. 

ii.  98.  ^Idem.,  Titus,  10,  11. 

'  Servius  on  Verg.  Ec/.,  iv.  46.  ^  Vluto-rch.,  Alex,  the   Great,   ii.  8; 

*  Suet.,  Calig.,  57.  Parallels  bet.  Greeks  and  Romans,  35; 
•/^>.,95.  Aesch.,  Persians,  205  ff.;  Suet.,  Aug., 

•  Xenophon,  Cyropaedia,  i.  6.  1.  94,  95. 


74  DIVINE  MANIFESTATIONS  IN  NEW  TESTAMENT  TIMES 

raven,^"  the  manner  in  which  chickens  eat  their  food/^  in  putting  the  right 
shoe  on  the  left  foot  or  vice  versa,  in  the  falHng  of  a  drizzUng  rain  at  the 
commencement  of  a  journey,  at  a  tree  growing  out  of  an  opening  between 
stones,  in  a  withered  branch's  turning  green  again,^^  in  the  peculiar 
spattering  of  blood  at  a  sacrifice,^^  and  in  a  dog's  finding  a  man's  hand.^"^ 

Omens  of  miraculous  character  were  frequent.  Before  Caesar  was 
stabbed,  the  doors  of  his  house  flew  suddenly  open.^^  A  similarly  miracu- 
lous occurrence  indicated  to  Caesar  that  Augustus  was  to  be  his  successor. 
Caesar  one  day  cut  down  a  palm  tree.  From  the  root  there  immediately 
put  out  a  sucker,  ''which,  in  a  few  days,  grew  to  such  a  height  as  not  only 
to  equal  but  overshadow"  the  original  tree  "and  afford  room  for  the  nests 
of  wild  pigeons  .  .  .  Caesar  was  chiefly  influenced  by  this  prodigy  to  pre- 
fer his  sister's  grandson  before  all  others  as  his  successor.  "^^  Of  Caligula 
it  is  said:  "Hisapproachingfate  was  indicated  by  many  prodigies.  The 
statue  of  Jupiter  Olympus  suddenly  burst  out  into  a  violent  fit  of  laughter 

The  following  fist  of  portents  which  occurred  while  Hannibal  was  ad- 
vancing on  Rome,  is  interesting,  as  much  from  the  point  of  view  of  their 
miraculous  nature  as  from  that  of  showing  the  habit  of  the  Hellenistic 
world  of  grouping  prophetic  occurrences.  "  In  Sicily  several  of  the  sol- 
diers' darts  were  covered  with  flames;  in  Sardinia  the  same  thing  happened 
to  the  staff  in  the  hand  of  an  officer  going  his  rounds  to  inspect  the  senti- 
nels on  the  walls;  the  shores  had  been  lit  up  by  numerous  fires;  a  couple  of 
shields  had  sweated  blood;  some  soldiers  had  been  struck  by  Hghtning;  an 
eclipse  of  the  sun  had  been  observed;  at  Praenesta  there  had  been  a  shower 
of  red-hot  stones;  at  Apri  shields  had  been  seen  in  the  sky  and  the  sun  ap- 
peared to  be  fighting  with  the  moon;  at  Capua  two  moons  were  visible  in 
the  daytime;  at  Caere  the  waters  ran  mingled  with  blood,  and  even  the 
spring  of  Hercules  had  bubbled  up  drops  of  blood  upon  the  water;  at  An- 
tium  the  ears  of  corn  which  fell  into  the  reapers'  baskets  were  blood- 
stained; at  Falerii  the  sky  seemed  cleft  asunder  as  with  an  enormous  rift 
and  all  over  the  opening  there  was  a  blazing  light;  the  oracular  tablets  had 
shrunk  and  shriveled  without  being  touched,  and  one  had  fallen  out  with 
the  inscription  'Mars  is  shaking  his  spear' ;  and  at  the  same  time  the  statue 

"Livy,  X.  40.  "/</.,  Vesp.,  5. 

"  lb.  15  id,^  Caesar,  8. 

^2  Suet,  Aug.,  92.  w  Id.,  Augustus,  94. 

'3  Id.,  Calig.,  57.  "  Id.,  Calig.,  57. 


DIVINE  MANIFESTATIONS  IN  NEW  TESTAMENT  TIMES  75 

of  Mars  on  the  Appian  Way,  and  the  images  of  the  wolves,  sweated  blood; 
and  finally  at  Capua  the  sight  was  seen  of  the  sky  on  fire  and  the  moon 
falling  in  the  midst  of  rain.  "^^  Other  Graeco-Roman  lists  of4)ojtents, 
illustrating  each  of  the  general  classes  mentioned  above,  may  be  referred 
to.  Livy,  xxi.  62,  contains  an  account  of  those  which  warned  the  Romans 
when  Hannibal  first  descended  the  Alps  to  ravage  Italy.  Tacitus,  His- 
tory, V.13,  groups  the  occurrences  presaging  the  fall  of  Jerusalem  in  70a.d. 
Suetonius,  Vespasian,  5;  Caligula,  SI,  and  Dion  Cassius,  xlv.l,  2,  enumer- 
ate those  bearing  upon  several  of  the  early  Roman  emperors. 

The  writings  of  the  Hebrews  and  the  Jews  refer  frequently  to  the  in- 
fluence of  signs  upon  the  life  of  both  individuals  and  groups.  Yahweh 
manifests  them  "either  in  the  depth  or  in  the  height.  "^^  One  is  given  to 
Hezekiah,  but  it  prevailed  not  with  him,  nor  are  we  told  what  it  was.^*^ 
Isa.  44:26  says  that  some  "signs"  are  liars.  Jesus  criticizes  the  Jews  of 
his  day  for  seeking  after  "signs,"  and  Paul  reports  that  "Jews  ask  for 
signs.  "2^  Here  also  may  be  distinguished  the  same  three  general  classes 
which  we  discovered  among  the  Greeks  and  the  Romans. 

According  to  Gen.  1:14  Yahweh  set  the  "lights  in  the  firmament  of 
heaven"  for  " signs, "^^  and  Jer.  10:2  criticizes  those  who  are  "dismayed 
at  the  signs  of  heaven,  for  the  nations  are  dismayed  at  them. "  II  Baruch 
19:3  condemns  transgressors  who,  in  spite  of  the  instruction  of  the  Law 
and  "  the  spheres  which  testify  ",  have  gone  astray.  Isa.  13 :9-13  prefaces 
the  dawning  of  "the  day  of  Yahweh"  with  the  following  phenomena: 
the  stars  of  heaven  and  the  constellations  thereof  shall  not  give  their 
light,  the  sun  shall  be  darkened  .  .  .  and  the  moon  shall  not  cause  its 
light  to  shine  ...  I  will  make  the  heavens  to  tremble.  .  .  "  Accord- 
ing to  Amos  8:9  ff.,  in  the  day  of  Israel's  punishment  the  sun  shall  go 
down  at  noon  and  the  earth  be  darkened  in  the  clear  day.  In  connection 
with  the  overthrow  of  Pharaoh  Ezek.  32:7,  8,  says:  "  I  will  cover  the  heav- 
ens and  make  the  stars  thereof  dark;  I  will  cover  the  sun  with  a  cloud,  and 
the  moon  shall  not  give  its  light.  All  the  bright  fights  of  heaven  I  will 
make  dark  over  thee,  and  set  darkness  over  thy  land. "  According  to 
Joel  2:30,  31  the  deliverance  of  Israel  is  thus  to  be  signalized:  "I  will 
show  wonders  in  the  heavens  and  in  the  earth,  blood  and  fire  and  pillars  of 
smoke;  the  sun  shall  be  turned  into  darkness,  and  the  moon  into  blood, 

^8Livy,  xxii.  1.  ^^  Mt.,    12:39;    16:4;    Mk.,    8:12; 

"/5a.,  7:10.  Life.,  11:29,  30. 

20// CA^-ow.,  32:24.  "  gge  Driver,  Genesis,  p.   10,  for 

discussion  of  this  passage,  and  others. 


76  DIVINE  MANIFESTATIONS  IN  NEW  TESTAMENT  TIMES 

iDcfore  the  great  and  terrible  day  of  Yahweh  cometh. "  Here  also  must  be 
mentioned  the  account  of  the  significance  of  the  rainbow,  as  related  in 
Gen.  9:13,  to  the  effect  that  it  is  Yahweh's  sign  to  men  that  the  earth  will 
not  again  be  destroyed  by  a  flood.  In  Antiquities  xvii.6  Josephus  relates 
that  ''on  the  very  night"  when  disaster  overcame  a  part  of  the  Jewish 
seditionists  "  there  was  an  eclipse  of  the  moon. " 

A  number  of  what  we  have  termed  terrestrial  phenomena,  or  those 
having  to  do  with  more  or  less  natural  occurrences,  may  be  instanced.  If 
the  destruction  of  Korah  and  the  other  rebeUious  priests  recorded  in  Num. 
16:31  ff.  was  due  to  an  earthquake  or  volcanic  eruption,  it  should  be  in- 
cluded here;  whatever  may  be  thought  regarding  the  incident,  it  is  related 
in  the  above  section  as  Yahweh's  way  of  indicating  his  will  as  to  the  priest- 
hood, and  in  Num.  26:10  ff.  the  whole  circumstance  is  referred  to  as  a 
sign."  Josephus,  in  relating  the  circumstances  in  Antiquities  iv.4,  al- 
though his  narrative  is  at  variance  with  that  of  Numbers  at  some  points, 
seems  to  regard  the  occurrence  thus.  He  says:  ''Thus  did  these  men 
perish,  and  become  a  demonstration  of  the  power  of  God. "  Earthquakes, 
lightning,  thunder,  thick  cloud,  fire  and  smoke  indicate  to  the  as- 
sembled Hebrews  that  Yahweh  has  come  down  into  the  Mount  to  deliver 
the  Law  to  Moses.^^ 

Among  the  more  unusual  or  miraculous  signs  conveying  information  to 
the  Hebrews  may  be  mentioned  the  following  by  way  of  illustration. 
Yahweh  withers  Jeroboam's  hand  and  spHts  his  altar  as  "  signs  "  of  his  dis- 
pleasure at  the  king's  unlawful  institutions.  Ahaz  is  to  know  that  his 
downfall  is  at  hand  when  Yahweh  gives  him  as  a  "sign"  the  knowledge 
that  a  virgin  has  conceived  and  shall  bear  a  son.^'^  As  a  "  sign  "  that  Yah- 
weh will  heal  him,  Hezekiah's  shadow  was  made  to  return  backward  ten 
steps.2^ 

The  habit  of  grouping  signs  and  portents  was  current  among  the  He- 
brews and  the  Jews.  II  Mace.  5:1  ff.  relates  that  at  the  time  Antiochus 
prepared  for  his  second  excursion  into  Egypt,  the  following  portents  of  un- 
certain meaning  were  seen  in  Jerusalem:  "through  all  the  city  for  the 
space  of  almost  forty  days  there  were  seen  horsemen  running  in  the  air, 
in  cloth  of  gold,  and  armed  with  lances  like  a  band  of  soldiers,  and  troops 
of  horsemen  in  array,  encountering  and  running  one  against  the  other, 
with  shaking  of  shields,  and  multitude  of  pikes,  and  drawing  of  swords, 

"  Ex.,  19:16-18;  20:18-21.  ^  II  Kgs.,  20:8  ff. 

^Isa.,1:U. 


DIVINE  MANIFESTATIONS  IN  NEW  TESTAMENT  TIMES  11 

and  casting  of  darts,  and  glittering  of  golden  ornaments,  and  harness  of 
all  sorts.  Wherefore  every  man  prayed  that  the  apparition  might  turn 
to  the  good. "  Before  the  fall  of  Jerusalem  in  70  a.d.  certain  tokens  indi- 
cated coming  disaster.  "There  was  a  star  resembUng  a  sword  which 
stood  over  the  city,  and  a  comet  that  continued  a  whole  year  ...  at  the 
feast  of  unleavened  bread  ...  so  great  a  light  shone  round  about  the 
altar  and  the  holy  house  that  it  appeared  to  be  bright  daytime  ...  at 
the  same  festival  a  heifer,  as  she  was  led  by  the  high  priest  to  be  sacrificed, 
brought  forth  a  lamb  in  the  midst  of  the  temple  .  .  .  the  eastern  gate 
of  the  inner  court  of  the  temple,  which  is  of  brass  and  vastly  heavy  .  .  . 
opened  of  its  own  accord  .  .  .  on  the  one  and  twentieth  day  of  the  month 
called  Artemysius  or  Jyar  .  .  .  before  sunsetting,  chariots  and  troops  of 
soldiers  in  their  armor  were  seen  running  about  among  the  clouds  and 
surrounding  cities  ...  at  Pentecost,  as  the  priests  were  going  into  the 
temple  by  night  .  .  .  they  felt  a  quaking,  and  heard  a  great  voice,  and 
afterward  they  hear  a  sound  as  of  a  great  multitude  saying,  'Let  us  re- 
move hence.'  "^e  ^  favorite  theme  about  which  to  assemble  lists  of  por- 
tents and  signs  was  the  expected  end  of  the  age.  IV  Ezra  5:1-13  deals 
with  this  subject.  As  tokens  of  the  end  there  are  to  be,  first,  general 
panic  and  lack  of  faith,  together  with  an  increase  of  iniquity  and  a  univer- 
sal desolation  of  the  Roman  empire.  "Then  shall  the  sun  suddenly 
shine  forth  by  night  and  the  moon  by  day;  and  blood  shall  trickle  forth 
from  wood  and  the  stone  utter  its  voice;  the  peoples  shall  be  in  commo- 
tion; the  outgoings  of  the  stars  shall  change  .  .  .  the  birds  shall  take  to 
general  flight,  and  the  sea  cast  forth  its  fish;  and  the  earth  o'er  wide  re- 
gions shall  open,  and  fire  burst  forth  for  a  long  period;  the  wild  beasts 
shall  desert  their  haunts,  and  women  bear  monsters;  one-year  old  children 
shall  speak;  pregnant  women  shall  bring  forth  untimely  births  at  three  or 
four  months  and  these  shall  live  and  dance  .  .  .  suddenly  shall  sown  places 
appear  unsown,  and  full  storehouses  empty;  salt  waters  shall  be  found  in 
sweet;  friends  shall  attack  each  other. "  In  6:14  ff.the  list  is  continued; 
and  in  chapters  fifteen  and  sixteen,  as  the  Ezra  Hterature  is  printed  in 
our  ordinary  editions  of  Xh^  Apocrypha,  or  in  V Esdras,  as  it  is  presented  in 
Charles,  Apocrypha  and  Pseudepigrapha,  vol.  II,  pp.  542  ff.,  tokens  of  the 
coming  destruction  of  Babylon  are  given,  among  which  are  included 
flying  clouds,  storm,  falHng  stars,  earthquakes,  fire,  sword,  hail,  many 
waters,  plague,  famine,  pestilence,  anguish,  tribulation,  and  general 
destruction. 

^  Joseph.,  A ntt.  vi.  5.  3. 


78  DIVINE  MANIFESTATIONS  IN  NEW  TESTAMENT  TIMES 

In  the  life  revealed  to  us  in  the  writings  of  the  New  Testament  we  dis- 
cover playing  their  respective  roles  the  same  three  general  classes  of  signs 
and  portents  which  were  operative  among  gentiles  and  Jews.  Mt.  2:2,7, 
9,  10  contains  the  evidence  for  the  influence  of  celestial  portents  upon  the 
thought  of  early  Christians.  Here  a  planetary  phenomenon  is  presented 
in  the  light  of  a  divinely  sent  mediator  of  information  bearing  upon  the 
birth  and  career  of  Jesus.  The  magi  appear  first  to  have  seen  it  "in  the 
east,"  and  to  have  recognized  at  once  that  it  presaged  the  birth  of  a 
"King  of  the  Jews "  who  was  worthy  of  "  worship. "  Herod,  upon  learn- 
ing of  the  heavenly  messenger,  was  "  troubled. "  A  feature  of  the  account 
is  that  the  "star"  appears  to  have  moved  from  east  to  west  for  the  pur- 
pose of  guiding  the  magi  to  their  goal.  Finally  "it  came  and  stood  over 
where  the  young  child  was. "  Other  early  Christian  circles  beside  the  one 
represented  by  Matthew  were  influenced  by  the  occurrence.  Ignatius, 
in  to  the  Ephesians,  19,  relates  the  circimistance  in  somewhat  heightened 
form.  His  view  is  that  by  means  of  the  star  Jesus  was  manifested  to  the 
world.  "A  star  shone  forth  in  heaven,  above  all  the  other  stars,  the  light 
of  which  was  inexpressible,  while  its  novelty  struck  men  with  astonish- 
ment. And  all  the  rest  of  the  stars,  with  the  sun  and  the  moon,  formed  a 
chorus  to  this  star,  and  its  light  was  exceedingly  great  above  them  all. 
And  there  was  agitation  felt  as  to  whence  this  new  spectacle  came,  so  un- 
like to  anything  else  in  the  heavens. "  It  is  thus  apparent  that  celestial 
phenomena  were  playing  the  same  part  among  early  Christians  as  among 
their  contemporaries  and  predecessors. 

Various  natural  occurrences  of  portentious  meaning  may  be  specified. 
Darkness  and  earthquake  signified  deity's  disapproval  of  the  crucifixion 
of  Jesus.2^  Luke  says,  "darkness  came  over  the  whole  land  .  .  .  the 
sun  faihng, "  which  impresses  one  with  its  resemblance  to  the  paleness 
of  the  sun  preceding  Caesar's  death.  Wars,  earthquakes,  famines,  and 
pestilences  are  to  mark  the  "beginning"  of  the  "travail"  preceding 
the  end.2^  Before  the  end  also  Christians  are  to  be  persecuted,  forsaken 
by  relatives,  even  put  to  death;  Jerusalem  is  to  be  surrounded  by  armies; 
woes  innumerable  are  to  manifest  themselves;  and  a  profusion  of  false 
prophets  and  spurious  Messiahs  are  to  put  in  an  appearance.^^ 

^^  Mk.,    15:33-28;    Mt.,    27:45-53;  ^^  Mk.,  U:9-2Z;  Mt.,  2^:S-2^;  Lk., 

Life.,  23:44,45.  12-20. 

^^Mk.,    13:8;    Mt.,    24:7,    8;    Lk., 
21:4-11. 


DIVINE  MANIFESTATIONS  IN  NEW  TESTAMENT  TIMES  79 

Signs  of  a  miraculous  character  are  given  a  prominent  place.  There 
is  of  course  a  miraculous  element  present  in  the  time  of  the  occurrence  of 
the  earthquakes  and  other  phenomena  just  referred  to;  but  various 
events  miraculous  per  se  may  be  indicated.  The  rending  of  tlie~temple 
veil  from  the  top  to  the  bottom,^^  the  parting  asunder  of  the  rocks,  the 
opening  of  the  tombs,  and  the  resurrection  and  appearance  among  men  of 
the  buried  saints,^^  are  all  presented  as  circumstances  indicating  the 
attitude  of  deity  to  the  crucifixion  and  death  of  Jesus.  Portents  of  a 
miraculous  nature  are  also  to  presage  the  end  of  the  age.  Lk.  21:11 
describes  them  in  general  terms  as  "  terrors  and  great  signs  from  heaven. " 
Mk.  13:24-27,  and  the  parallels  in  ML  24:29-31  and  Lk.  21:25-28,  go 
somewhat  into  details,  but  with  only  indifferent  agreement.  "The  sun 
shall  be  darkened,  and  the  moon  shall  not  give  her  light,  and  the  stars 
shall  be  falling  from  heaven,  and  the  powers  that  are  in  the  heavens  shall 
be  shaken."  To  this  list  as  given  in  the  second  gospel  Matthew  adds: 
"Then  shall  appear  the  sign  of  the  Son  of  Man  in  heaven;  and  all  the 
tribes  of  the  earth  shall  mourn."  Luke's  account  is:  "And  there  shall 
be  signs  in  sun  and  moon  and  stars;  and  upon  earth  distress  of  nations,  in 
perplexity  for  the  roaring  of  the  sea  and  the  billows;  men  fainting  for 
fear  ...  for  the  powers  of  the  heavens  shall  be  shaken."  Acts  2:14  ff. 
presents  another  group  of  signs  which  early  Christians  regarded  as  in- 
dicative of  the  end.  The  list  was  appropriated  from  Joel  2:28  ff.  and  re- 
fers to  such  incidents  as  the  pouring  forth  of  the  Spirit,  general  ability 
to  prophesy,  "wonders  in  the  heavens  above,  and  signs  on  the  earth  be- 
neath, blood,  and  fire,  and  vapor  of  smoke,  the  turning  of  the  sun  "into 
darkness,  and  the  moon  into  blood."  In  the  view  of  Paul,  and  also 
doubtless  among  the  Christians  instructed  by  him,  the  end  of  the  age  was 
to  be  preceded  by  two  significant  events,  namely,  "  the  falHng  away,  "and 
the  manifestation  "of  the  man  of  sin"  who  is  perhaps  to  be  identified 
with  "  the  lawless  one  whom  the  Lord  Jesus  shall  slay  with  the  breath  of 
his  mouth.  "^^ 

Christians  thus,  as  did  the  Graeco-Romans  and  the  Jews,  read  deity's 
purposes  concerning  themselves  in  various  phenomena  of  celestial,  terres- 
trial, and  miraculous  character;  and  were  given,  moreover,  as  the  groups 
of  portents  in  the  gospels,  t\iQ  Acts  and  Paul  indicate,  to  the  habit  of  com- 
piling and  employing  lists  of  prophetic  occurrences  bearing  upon  their 

"il/^.,  15:37;  Mt.,  27:51;  cf.  Lk.,  ^' Mt.,  27:51-53. 

23:44.  ^UIThess.,  2:2  fi. 


80  DIVINE  MANIFESTATIONS  IN  NEW  TESTAMENT  TIMES 

community  life.  It  is  interesting  to  note  in  addition  that  a  similarity  ex- 
ists not  only  in  external  form  but  also  in  inner  meaning.  The  common 
message  conveyed,  especially  in  the  compilations,  whether  pagan,  Jewish, 
or  Christian,  was  largely  one  of  approaching  doom.  Interest  seems  gen- 
erally to  have  centered  on  coming  disaster.  But  of  course  such  a  dis- 
tinction may  not  be  pressed  too  far.  Deity  by  means  of  portents  con- 
veyed both  to  Christians  and  to  their  contemporaries  information  on  top- 
ics other  than  destruction.  In  fact  Christians  proved  themselves  parti- 
cularly skilful  in  turning  to  their  own  advantage  even  the  most  dire  of 
omens;  certain  portents  foretold  the  end  of  the  age,  but,  according  to  early 
Christian  interpretation,  the  very  phenomena  signalizing  the  destruction 
of  the  world,  at  the  same  time  presaged  the  salvation  of  the  Christian 
community.  Portents  prophetic  of  evil  for  the  world  at  large  were  indi- 
cative of  good  only  for  the  Christian.  This  of  course  is  a  point  of  view 
different  from  that  of  the  Roman  who  read  in  portents  attendant  upon 
Hannibal's  invasion  not  only  the  destruction  of  the  state  but  doubtless 
his  own  as  well. 


CHAPTER  VIII 

s. 

Divination 

In  this  chapter  we  are  to  consider  the  practice  of  securing  divine  infor- 
mation by  "enquiring"  of  deity.  Defined  in  this  sense,  divination,  as  a 
mode  of  supernatural  manifestation,  differs  from  both  the  prophet  and 
the  portent  in  this:  in  revealing  himself  through  prophets  and  portents, 
deity  takes  the  initiative;  in  obtaining  knowledge  by  divination,  man 
makes  the  first  move.  The  ground  common  to  the  three  is  this:  all  alike 
are  channels  whereby  otherwise  unobtainable  indications  of  the  divine 
will  come  to  men. 

Divination  is  often  defined  to  include  certain  aspects  of  prophetic 
activity  and  of  the  interpretation  of  portents.  The  reason  is  apparent. 
Many  portents,  although  sent  by  deity  for  the  enhghtenment  of  man,  de- 
mand interpretation;  thus  Calchas,  the  prophet,  interprets  the  omen  of 
the  serpent  and  the  nest  of  swallows  in  the  Odyssey,  ii.  299  ff .  Sometimes, 
also  it  is  difficult  to  determine  whether  the  omen  is  sent  by  deity  or  pro- 
duced by  man.  The  sacred  chickens  of  the  Romans  are  a  case  in  point. 
In  the  present  discussion  portents  from  this  source  have  been  included  un- 
der the  head  of  natural  omens,  on  the  ground  that  it  is  a  perfectly  or- 
dinary thing  for  chickens  to  eat  or  not  to  eat.  But  with  just  as  good  rea- 
son, and  perhaps  better,  they  might  be  classed  as  a  method  of  divination, 
as  here  defined,  on  the  ground  that  man  used  them  as  means  for  determin- 
ing the  divine  will.  Thus  while  certain  phases  of  divination  intrude  upon 
the  realm  of  the  prophet  and  the  portent,  in  the  main  the  distinction 
above  made  holds  good.  In  divination,  defining  the  term  strictly,  man 
takes  the  initiative  in  securing  from  deity  the  information  he  wants.  It 
may  be  necessary,  in  order  to  obtain  it,  that  man  coax,  persuade,  or  even 
coerce  the  supernatural  powers  into  action;  but  in  any  case  man  himself 
uses  means  to  obtain  the  result.  In  the  transmission  of  information 
through  prophets  and  portents,  deity  sends  the  messages  of  his  own  will 
and  man  is  concerned  in  the  transaction  in  a  secondary  manner  only. 
His  task  is  simply  to  interpret  what  is  given  him. 

Methods  by  which  deity  was  consulted  were  various.  It  is  unneces- 
sary here  to  attempt  to  deal  with  them  in  detail,  especially  as  numerous 


82  DIVINE  MANIFESTATIONS  IN  NEW  TESTAMENT  TIMES 

standard  works  may  be  cited  which  treat  the  matter  at  length.  An  ex- 
cellent discussion  of  the  subject,  from  the  point  of  view  of  an  ethnic 
phenomenon,  may  be  found  in  Hastings,  Encyclopaedia  of  Religion  and 
Ethics,  vol.  iv,  pp.  775  ff.,  under  the  title  ''Divination. "  Attention  may 
be  called  particularly  to  the  sections  on  "  Greek, "  "  Roman, "  "  Hebrew, " 
and  "  Christian  "  Divination.  Divination  among  the  Romans  is  treated  at 
length  in  Bouche-Leclercq,  Histoire  de  la  divination  dans  Vantiquitie,  vol.  iv, 
"Divination  itahque."  Mommsen's  Romische  Staatsrecht,  2nd.  ed.  vol. 
i,  pp.  73  ff.,  presents  an  excellent  account  of  the  Roman  augur,  his  prac- 
tices, function,  etc.  Divination  among  the  Greeks  is  discussed  by  Halli- 
day,  Greek  Divination,  and  by  Bouche-Leclercq,  ibid.  vols,  i  and  ii.  M. 
Gaster's  article  on  "Hebrew"  divination  in  Hastings,  ibid.,  and  the  one 
on  "Divination"  in  the  Encyclopaedia  Biblica,  vol.  i,  cols.  1117-1121,  deal 
with  the  Jewish  side  of  the  matter. 

How  widespread  the  practice  of  "enquiring"  of  deity  was  in  antiquity, 
and  the  methods  employed,  are  of  course  indicated  in  the  hterature  just 
referred  to.  Both  points,  however,  may  be  touched  on  briefly  in  passing, 
The  ancient  Egyptians  secured  answers  to  their  questions  by  asking  the 
statue  of  a  certain  god,^  and  Pliny  refers  to  their  practice  of  consulting  the 
bull  Apis  for  the  same  purpose.^  The  Roman  Fabius  Maximus,  before 
moving  his  camp  from  Tarentum  to  Metapontum,  inspected  the  entrails 
of  a  sacrificial  victim  to  learn  whether  the  gods  favored  the  change.^  Ac- 
cording to  Ezek.  23:19  ff.,  the  art  was  practiced  by  the  Babylonians. 
"The  Babylonian  king  stood  at  the  parting  of  the  way  ...  to  use  di- 
vination: he  shook  the  arrows  to  and  fro,  he  consulted  the  teraphim,  he 
looked  in  the  hver  "  in  order  to  determine  whether  he  sould  advance  upon 
Jerusalem.  Hos.  4:12  ff.  states  that  the  Hebrews  "ask  counsel  of  their 
stocks,  and  their  staffs  declare  it  unto  them, "  and  Herodotus  informs  us, 
in  iv.67,  that  the  Scythians  obtained  the  same  result  by  the  use  of  willow 
wands.  In  the  same  passage  reference  is  made  to  the  use  of  the  inner 
bark  of  the  linden  in  foretelling  the  future.  Among  the  Hebrews  the  tera- 
phim seem  to  have  been  so  employed.  Zech.  10:2  states  that  they 
"  speak. "  Consultation  of  spirits  of  the  departed  was  another  method. 
/  Sam.  28:7  ff.  describes  how,  upon  Saul's  request,  the  witch  of  Endor  re- 
called the  spirit  of  the  dead  Samuel,  and  specifies  that  among  the  items 
of  information  Saul  received  at  the  time  was  that  of  his  coming  death 

^  Diodorus  Siculus,  iii.  5.  '  Livy,  xxvii.  16.  15. 

^N.H.vm.71. 


DIVINE  MANIFESTATIONS  IN  NEW  TESTAMENT  TIMES  83 

at  the  hands  of  the  PhiUstines  on  the  morrow.  A  sunilar  scene  is 
described  by  Lucan.^  In  comphance  with  the  request  of  Sextus,  Pom- 
pey's  son,  a  witch  recalls  the  spirit  into  the  body  of  a  soldier  slain  in  bat- 
tle, and  information  similar  to  that  vouchsafed  Saul  is  forthcoming. 

Typical  of  all  divination  is  the  practice  of  consulting  deity  by  lot. 
Among  the  Greeks  and  the  Romans  it  was  felt  that  the  process  of  securing 
information  in  this  manner  was  under  the  especial  direction  of  the  super- 
natural powers.  Thus  when  Ajax  is  selected  by  the  Greeks  to  do  single 
combat  with  Hector,  the  lots  are  placed  in  a  helmet,  and  earnest  prayer 
is  made  to  Zeus  that  he  will  direct  the  result.^  One  of  the  most  popular 
lot  oracles  among  the  Romans  was  that  of  Praeneste.  Tradition  related 
that  it  had  been  established  by  one  Numerius  Sufficus  at  the  direct  in- 
stigation of  deity.  So  thoroughly  was  deity  interested  in  the  setting  up 
of  the  oracle  that  even  the  oaken  lots  themselves  had  been  divinely  pro- 
vided. A  vision  directed  Numerius  to  cut  open  a  large  stone.  Therein 
"he  found  certain  lots,  engraved  in  ancient  characters  on  oak."  The 
Romans  religiously  guarded  the  spot  where  the  discovery  took  place,  and 
employed  the  lots  in  obtaining  divine  information  under  the  direction  of 
the  goddess  Fortuna.^ 

The  lot  was  made  to  do  service  in  the  Graeco-Roman  world  on  various 
important  occasions.  A  spy  reported  to  Eteocles,  King  of  Thebes,  that 
the  seven  opposing  chieftains,  when  he  left  them,  "were  drawing  lots, 
that  each  of  them,  as  his  place  was  assigned  him,  might  conduct  his  com- 
pany up  to  the  gates. "''  The  Lesbian  founders  of  Mesogaeum  decided  by 
this  method  which  of  their  seven  chief  citizens  should  furnish  a  daughter 
to  be  sacrificed  "  in  honor  of  Amphitrite  and  the  sea  nymphs  .  .  .  who  it 
should  be  was  decided  by  lot  and  the  lot  fell  upon  Smintheus'  sister.  "^ 
Herodotus  refers  to  the  use  of  the  lot  in  connection  with  the  choosing  of  a 
Persian  king.^  Cicero  intimates  that  on  various  occasions  the  oracle  at 
Dodona  was  thus  consulted,  and  considerable  evidence  has  been  adduced 
to  show  that  Apollo  often  thus  revealed  his  will  at  Delphi.^'^  One  of  the 
most  interesting  cases  of  the  use  of  lots  for  obtaining  a  divine  manifesta- 
tion is  recorded  by  Tacitus,  in  Annals,  i.54.     In  the  time  of  Tiberius  it 

*  Pharsalia,  vi.  414  ff.  «  Plut.,  Banquet  of  the  Seven  Wise 

^  Iliad,  vii.  175;  cf.  iii.  316;    xxiii.  Men,  20. 
352.  » Herod,  iii.  83. 

«  Cicero,  Divination,  i.  41.  "  Cicero,  ibid.,    i.  32;  Journal  of 

"*  A&sch.y\v&,  Seven  Against  Thebes,  Classical  Philology,    "The  Lot  Oracle 

55-57;  cf.  120,  373,  410.  at  Delphi,"  Feb.  1916. 


84  DIVINE  MANIFESTATIONS  IN  NEW  TESTAMENT  TIMES 

was  decided  that  the  rehgious  rites  of  the  Sabines,  which  were  fast  falling 
into  oblivion,  should  be  preserved.  To  this  end  it  seemed  desirable  to 
combine  them  with  the  Roman  state  religion.  The  move  necessiated  the 
appointment  of  twenty-one  new  priests,  who,  as  representatives  of  the 
Sabine  ceremonies,  were  to  be  incorporated  with  the  members  of  the  sacer- 
dotal college.  The  selections  were  made  by  lot  from  among  the  most 
eminent  citizens. 

Some  obscurity  surrounds  the  method  by  which  the  lots  were  operated. 
Cicero  states  that  those  of  Praeneste  in  Fortuna's  temple  were  shuffled 
and  drawn  out  by  the  hand  of  a  child.^^  Horace  refers  to  the  custom  of 
using  a  narrow-necked  urn  filled  with  water  which  allowed  one  lot  at  a 
time  to  make  its  appearance  at  the  opening.^^  Lucian,  in  Hermotimus, 
lines  960  ff.,  describes  at  length  a  somewhat  different  procedure.  Lyci- 
nus,  in  his  conversation  with  Hermotimus,  asks  how  the  competitors  are 
matched  against  each  other  at  the  Olympic  games.  Thereupon  Hermoti- 
mus relates  what  he  saw  "the  other  day"  when  he  *'sat  so  close"  as  to 
" get  a  good  view  of  everything  that  goes  on. "  "There  was, "  he  explains, 
"a  silver  urn  standing  by,  sacred  to  the  god,  and  into  this  small  marked 
lots  were  thrown,  about  the  size  of  beans.  They  were  marked  in  pairs: 
two  with  the  letter  A  on  each,  two  with  B,  two  with  C,  and  so  on,  accord- 
ing to  the  number  of  competitors,  but  always  two  lots  with  the  same  mark. 
Then  each  of  the  contestants  came  up,  and,  after  prayer  to  Zeus,  put  his 
hand  into  the  urn  and  drew  out  one  lot,  and  after  him  the  rest,  one  after 
another  .  .  .  the  Hellenodicae  ...  set  those  who  had  drawn  the  lot  A 
to  contend  with  each  other  in  the  wrestling  match  or  the  pancration,  and 
so  with  the  pair  who  had  drawn  B,  and  then  all  the  others  in  the  same 
way. " 

Among  the  Hebrews  the  apparatus  for  consulting  Yahweh  by  lot  was 
called  urim  and  thummim.  For  discussions  of  the  problems  in  connection 
with  the  nature  and  use  of  the  device,  together  with  citations  of  the 
literature  bearing  on  the  subject,  the  reader  is  referred  to  the  Encyclo- 
paedia Biblica,  vol.  iv,  cols.  5235-37,  and  to  Hastings,  Dictionary  of  the 
Bible,  vol.  iv,  pp.  ^3^  ff .  The  Hebrews  seem  to  have  held  that  the  in- 
stitution was  established  by  Moses  at  the  command  of  Yahweh.^^  Ac- 
cording to  various  pasages,  it  was  closely  associated  with  the  ephod,^^ 

"  Cicero,  iftii.,  ii.  41.  i*7   Sam.,    14:41    b;    Ex.,    28:30; 

"0^65,  II.,  iii.  25.  Lev.,  8:8;  Num.  27:21. 

^^  Ex.,  28:30;  cf.  Kennedy,  Hast. 
Diet,  oj  Bib.,  iv.,  p.  839a. 


DIVINE  MANIFESTATIONS  IN  NEW  TESTAMENT  TIMES  85 

and,  in  the  opinion  of  many  modern  scholars,  when  the  use  of  the  ephod 
in  divination  is  referred  to,  or  when  the  statement  ''to  enquire  of  Yah- 
weh"  is  employed,  it  is  to  be  understood  as  meaning  that  recourse  was 
had  to  urim  and  thummim}^  Thus  we  find  that  Israel  with  the  help  of 
Samuel  the  priest  discovered  by  lot  that  Yahweh  desired  Saul  to  be 
king.^^  By  lot  David  learned  of  Yahweh  that  the  men  of  Kiliah  would 
deliver  him  up  to  Saul,  that  it  was  the  divine  pleasure  that  he  should 
pursue  the  Amalekites,  that  the  Philistines  would  be  delivered  into  his 
hands  if  he  went  against  them,  that  he  should  overthrow  a  group  of  his 
enemies  by  coming  upon  them  from  the  rear,  and  that  Yahweh  wished 
him  to  go  up  to  Hebron  where  he  was  later  anointed  king.^^  Israel  in 
the  same  manner  learned  that  it  was  the  divine  will  that  they  should  go 
out  and  make  war  upon  their  brethren  the  Benjaminites. 

Light  upon  the  method  by  which  lots  were  operated  is  found  in  the 
Septuagint  version  of  /  Sam.  14:41,  which,  in  the  opinion  of  many  schol- 
ars, is  the  correct  text.^^  The  Philistines  are  prevailing  against  Israel 
and  the  people  enquire  of  Yahweh  whose  sin  is  responsible  for  the  diaster. 
The  parties  upon  whom  suspicion  rests  are  the  people  upon  the  one  hand 
and  Saul  and  his  son  Jonathan  on  the  other.  Before  the  lots  were  cast, 
Saul  says:  "If  this  sin  be  in  me  or  in  Jonathan  my  son,  Yahweh,  god  of 
Israel,  give  urim\  but  if  it  be  in  thy  people  Israel,  give  thummim. " 

A  variation  of  the  principle  of  urim  and  thummim  appears  to  have  been 
used  on  certain  occasions,  as  in  the  case  of  the  division  of  the  land  among 
the  people,  described  in  Num.  26:55  ff.,  and  in  that  of  the  determination 
of  the  order  in  which  the  sons  of  Aaron  were  to  render  their  priestly  ser- 
vices, an  account  of  which  is  contained  in  /  Chron.  24:3-19.  The  rota- 
tion of  the  temple  doorkeepers,  according  to  /  Chron.  26:12  ff.,  was  also 
determined  in  the  same  way.  The  fundamental  difference  between  the 
employment  of  the  lot  in  these  connections  and  the  manner  in  which  it 
was  used  in  urim  and  thummim  appears  from  the  passages  cited  to  lie  in 
this,  that,  whereas  urim  and  thummim  were  made  to  serve  in  distinguish- 
ing between  two  possible  alternatives,  in  the  matter  of  determining  the 
order  of  priestly  service  and  similar  questions,  the  principle  of  the  lot 
was  given  a  wider  apphcation.  We  are  told  that  it  was  the  order  of  the 
twenty-four  priestly  courses  which  was  determined  by  the  lot.    It  may  be 

^5  See   Encyclopaedia   articles   re-  ^^  I  Sam.,  23:9;  30:7  ff.;  //  Sam., 

ferredto.  5:19;  5:23;  2:1  ff. 

^«  /  Sam.,  10:17  ff.  ^^  Smith,  Samuel,  Int.  Crit.  Com., 

pp.  121  ff. 


86  DIVINE  MANIFESTATIONS  IN  NEW  TESTAMENT  TIMES 

that  the  expression,  "the  lot  is  cast  into  the  lap,"  found  in  Prov.  16:33, 
has  a  bearing  upon  the  matter.  But  whatever  the  nature  of  the  pro- 
cedure, or  its  relation  to  urim  and  thummim,  it  is  clear  the  the  practice 
functioned  among  the  Hebrews  in  the  same  way  as  in  the  selection  of 
competitors  at  the  Olympic  games.  The  Mischna  makes  reference  to  the 
use  of  lots  in  a  similar  way  while  the  temple  was  still  standing.  In 
Shekalim,  v.l,  there  is  mentioned,  among  other  temple  dignitaries,  one 
"Mathia,  son  of  Samuel,  superintendent  of  the  casting  of  lots,"  and 
Tamid,  i.2;  iii.l;  v.2,  speaks  of  apportioning  among  the  priests  by  means 
of  the  lot  various  desirable  activities  in  connection  with  the  public  wor- 
ship of  the  sanctuary.  It  is  thus  clear  that  the  practice  of  consulting 
Yahweh  by  the  use  of  some  form  of  the  lot  began  early  among  the  He- 
brews and  continued  late. 

The  Christian  method  of  determining  the  will  of  deity  by  lot,  as  the 
practice  is  described  for  us  in  Acts  1:15-26,  was  similar  in  many  respects 
to  that  in  vogue  among  the  gentiles  and  the  Jews.  The  membership  of 
the  apostoHc  college  is  to  be  made  complete.  One  individual  is  to  be 
selected.  Two  candidates  are  chosen  for  the  honor  and  deity  is  to  deter- 
mine between  them  by  lot.  The  prayer  used  in  connection  with  the 
transaction,  "Thou,  Lord,  who  knowest  the  hearts  of  all  men,  show  of 
these  two  the  one  whom  thou  has  chosen,"  reveals  the  same  assurance 
as  that  of  the  Graeco-Roman  and  the  Jew  that  the  procedure  is  under 
supernatural  control.  The  actual  method  of  manipulating  the  lots  is 
obscure.  A  decision  was  to  be  made  between  two  persons,  reminding 
one  of  the  use  of  urim  and  thummim  in  selecting  one  of  two  possible  alter- 
natives; yet  it  appears  that  the  lots  were  "  cast, "  a  practice  which  seems 
to  have  had  no  part  in  the  operation  of  urim  and  thummim.  It  is  not 
clear  from  the  text  whether  the  lots  were  "cast  to  them,  "or  "at  them," 
or  "  for  them. "  However  this  may  be,  the  purpose  served  was  identical 
with  that  served  by  similar  practices  among  contemporary  peoples. 
Deity  manifested  his  preference. 

The  whole  transaction  of  thus  selecting  Matthias  as  over  against  his 
opponent  to  fill  up  the  ranks  of  a  rehgious  organization  is  strikingly  like 
that  described  by  Tacitus,  in  which  twenty-one  priests  were  selected  by 
lot  to  complete  the  personnel  of  the  reorganized  sacerdotal  college. 

How  widely  New  Testament  Christians  employed  the  lot  to  deter- 
mine the  will  of  deity  we  have  no  means  of  knowing.  It  is  apparent, 
however,  that  the  lot  as  a  channel  for  obtaining  divine  information,  had 


DIVINE  MANIFESTATIONS  IN  NEW  TESTAMENT  TIMES  87 

numerous  competitors  in  Christian  circles.  Communities  possessing  a 
speaking  prophet  in  good  and  regular  standing  might  be  inclined  to  de- 
pend largely  upon  him  for  their  revelations.  At  the  same  time^ir  could 
be  said  that  a  community  securing  its  information  by  the  use  of  the  lot, 
would  have  Httle  need  of  a  prophet.  Yet  the  various  different  organs  of 
divine  manifestation  appear  to  have  existed  side  by  side  in  the  same 
communities.  The  early  chapters  of  the  Acts,  for  example,  show  us  that 
the  Christian  group  there  depicted  derived  oracles  from  their  scripture, 
from  their  prophets,  and  by  means  of  lot.  Paul,  although  on  occasion 
he  was  able  to  prophesy,  nevertheless  depended  to  a  large  extent  upon 
the  Old  Testament  for  information.  We  must  therefore  conclude  that 
some  communities  emphasized  one  method  and  others  another,  while 
still  others  perhaps  manifested  no  particular  preference.  However  this 
may  be,  evidence  is  not  wanting  which  indicates  that  the  early  Christian 
community  employed  the  lot  in  other  connections.  The  History  of  Mar 
Matthew  and  Mar  Andrew^^  contains  a  tradition  that  the  apostles,  "after 
the  ascension  of  our  Lord  Jesus  to  heaven, "  were  overcome  with  a  desire 
"  to  go  forth  and  preach  .  .  .  and  they  began  to  cast  lots,  and  distribute 
the  countries  among  them  .  .  .  and  it  happened,  when  they  had  cast 
lots,  it  fell  to  Matthew  the  Apostle  to  go  to  the  city  of  which  the  inhabi- 
tants were  cannibals. " 

"  See  Wright's  trans,  in  Apocryphal  Acts  of  the  Apostles,  1871,  vol.  ii.,  p.  92. 


CHAPTER  DC 
The  Inspired  Book 

One  of  the  most  important  methods  by  which  the  ancients  obtained 
manifestations  of  the  divine  will  was  through  the  agency  of  the  sacred 
book. 

Inspired  writings,  or  collections  of  inspired  writings,  appear  to  have 
been  common.  We  have  evidence  indicating  their  possession  by  the 
Persians,  Babylonians,  Egyptians,  Etrurians,  Latins,  Hebrews,  Jews, 
Greeks,  and  Christians. 

Details  regarding  the  origin  of  these  sacred  books  are  in  many  cases 
lacking,  yet  in  a  number  of  instances  there  is  available  evidence  suf- 
ficient to  enable  us  with  accuracy  to  determine  the  mode  in  which  they 
were  obtained.  With  respect  to  these  instances,  it  may  be  said  that  the 
writings  were  regarded  as  of  divine,  not  of  human,  origin,  and  that  at 
least  their  contents  passed  from  the  possession  of  deity  into  the  posses- 
sion of  man.     This  is  the  fundamental  fact. 

Sometimes  the  gods  wilHngly  and  without  compulsion  gave  such  a 
body  of  knowledge  to  man.  On  the  other  hand,  deity  was  sometimes 
unwilling  that  man  should  come  into  possession  of  such  an  advantage, 
and  strategy  was  necessary  to  secure  it.  In  other  cases,  the  attitude  of 
the  gods  seems  to  have  been  indifferent;  man  could,  or  could  not,  as  he 
chose,  gain  for  himself  a  written  body  of  divine  information.  When 
deity  desired  man  to  come  into  possession  of  a  sacred  book,  he  sometimes 
took  a  heavenly  volume  and  handed  it  over  to  man  in  its  completed  form. 
In  this  way  Shamesh  gave  to  Hammurabi  his  famous  code.  One  Heb- 
rew tradition  had  it  that  the  whole  written  book  of  the  Law  was  thus 
passed  over  to  Moses;  another,  that  the  separate  rolls  were  written  in 
heaven  and  put  into  the  hand  of  the  Hebrew  legislator  one  at  a  time. 
In  the  case  of  the  inspired  book  of  the  Persians,  the  Zend-Avesta,  deity 
transmitted  the  contents  to  Zoroaster,  who,  having  been  thus  divinely 
instructed,  committed  them  to  writing.  The  contents  of  the  books  of 
the  Hebrew  prophets  were  obtained  in  the  same  way.  An  excellent 
illustration  of  wresting  a  sacred  book  from  deity  by  trickery  is  found  in 


DIVINE  MANIFESTATIOS  IN  NEW  TESTAMENT  TIMES  89 

the  Egyptian  tradition  concerning  the  manner  in  which  mankind  came 
into  possession  of  the  famous  Book  of  Thoth.  The  story  is  written  in 
demotic  on  a  papyrus  found  at  Thebes  in  the  grave  of  a  Coptic  monk. 
A  translation  may  be  seen  in  Petrie,  Egyptian  Tales,  ii,  pp.  89  ff.,  or  in 
Murray,  Ancient  Egyptian  Legends,  pp.  29  ff.  Nefer-ka-ptah,  son  of  the 
king,  having  heard  where  the  volume  was  hidden,  decided  to  steal  it. 
"Thoth  wrote  the  book  with  his  own  hand,  and  in  it  is  all  the  magic  in 
the  world. "  If  one  simply  read  the  first  page,  the  knowledge  obtained 
would  give  him  absolute  power  over  all  nature,  and  make  him  equal  in 
wisdom  to  the  gods;  if  one  also  were  to  read  the  second  page,  "even 
though  thou  were  dead  .  .  .  thou  couldst  come  back  to  earth  in  the 
form  thou  once  hadst. "  The  king's  son  secured  the  book,  but  sacrificed 
the  lives  of  his  wife  and  child,  as  well  as  his  own,  in  the  attempt.  The 
volume,  however,  remained  in  the  possession  of  mankind.  When  Thoth 
learned  that  his  book  had  been  stolen,  he  "raged  like  a  panther  of  the 
South, "  The  written  collections  of  the  utterances  of  various  oracular 
shrines  which  were  made  by  the  Greeks  are  examples  of  how  man  on  his 
own  initiative  came  to  be  possessed  of  written  divine  revelations.  Deity 
furnished  the  content,  but  seems  to  have  manifested  indifference  as  to 
whether  or  not  man  preserved  it  in  written  form.  At  Thebes,  for 
example,  the  matter  of  collecting  and  recording  such  utterances  was 
looked  after  by  the  state.  Three  Theban  citizens,  "picked  men," 
Herodotus  tells  us,  were  in  attendance  in  the  temple  of  Apollo  Ptoiis  at 
Ptoiim  "to  take  down  whatever  answers  the  god  might  give."^  A  case 
of  the  miraculous  preservation  of  sacred  books  may  be  cited.  Numa 
received  from  the  goddess  Egeria  divine  instruction  as  to  the  law  and 
religion  of  the  Romans.^  In  a  later  age,  some  farm  laborers  at  work  on 
the  land  of  a  public  notary,  came  across  two  mammoth  stone  chests, 
each  of  which  was  inscribed  both  in  Latin  and  Greek  characters,  one  as 
containing  the  body  of  Numa,  and  the  other  as  containing  the  books. 
When  the  notary  examined  them,  the  first  was  found  to  be  empty,  but 
the  second  contained  two  bundles  of  books,  which  were  not  only  perfect, 
but  also  quite  fresh  in  appearance,  recentissima  specie.  Each  bundle 
contained  seven  rolls.  One  set  treated  of  pontifical  law,  the  other  of 
philosophy.3 

1  Herod,  viii.  135.  '  Livy,  xl.  29. 

2  Florus,  Epit.  of  Rom.  Hist.,  i.  2. 


90  DIVINE  MANIFESTATIONS  IN  NEW  TESTAMENT  TIMES 

Much  attention  was  given  by  the  Graeco-Romans  to  the  matter  of 
spurious  and  authentic  sacred  writings.  Onomacritus  of  Athens,  who 
had  pubHshed  an  edition  of  the  prophecies  of  Musaeus,  was  one  day  de- 
tected by  Lasus  in  foisting  into  the  writings  of  Musaeus  a  spurious  oracle. 
The  forger  was  banished  from  Athens  by  Hipparchus.^  Typical  perhaps 
of  the  care  bestowed  upon  all  sacred  books  was  that  manifested  by  the 
Romans  for  their  Sibylline  collection.  Pausanius  and  Lactantius  enum- 
erate ten  Sibyls.^  That  they  were  regarded  as  actual  mouthpieces  of 
deity  is  indicated  by  the  following  words  which  Pausanius  read  on  the 
tomb  of  one  of  them  in  the  Troad:  "Here  hidden  by  stone  sepulchre  I  lie, 
Apollo's  fate-pronouncing  Sibyl,  I,  a  vocal  maiden  once,  but  now  forever 
dumb. "  The  Sibylline  books  of  the  Romans  were  held  to  be  the  authen- 
tic productions  of  these  prophetesses,  and  especially  of  the  Cumaean 
Sibyl.  Tradition  represented  Aeneas  as  promising  the  priestess  of  Cumae 
to  found  a  college  and  a  priesthood  to  be  entrusted  with  her  books.^ 
In  the  time  of  the  later  monarchy  it  was  reported  that  her  successor 
offered  her  collection  in  nine  books  to  King  Tarquinius  Priscus  for  about 
fifteen  hundred  dollars.  The  king  thought  the  price  exorbitant.  She 
burned  three  of  the  books  and  demanded  the  same  amount.  Again  he 
refused  to  buy,  and  again  she  burned  three  of  the  books.  The  king 
thereupon  became  alarmed,  and  agreed  to  pay  the  full  price  for  the  re- 
maining three.  The  three  sacred  books  were  entrusted  at  first  to  two 
guardians;  the  number  was  increased  to  ten  in  367  B.C.,  and  to  fifteen  in 
the  time  of  Sulla.  From  this  time  on  those  in  charge  of  the  books  were 
known  as  the  quindecemviri.  They  held  office  for  fife  and  were  exempt 
from  all  civil  and  mihtary  obhgations.  The  books  themselves  were  laid 
up  in  a  crypt  of  the  great  Capitoline  Temple.^  This  collection  seems  to 
have  formed  the  first  canon  of  the  Sibylline  books.  In  83  B.C.,  during 
the  war  between  Marius  and  Sulla,  a  conflagration  destroyed  the  city 
and  the  volumes  perished.  A  second  canon  was  thereupon  formed. 
"Diligent  search,"  says  Tacitus,  "was  made  at  Samos,  at  Ilium,  at 
Erthrae,  in  Africa,  Sicily,  and  all  the  Roman  colonies,  in  order  to  collect 
the  Sibylline  verses,  whether  the  production  of  a  single  prophetess  or  of 
a  greater  number."^  Of  the  same  procedure  Dionysius  Halicarnassus 
says:  "The  oracles  which  are  now  extant  have  been  brought  together 

*  Herod,  vii.  6.  '  See  Granger,  Worship  of  the  Ro- 

5  Paus.,  X.  12;  Lact.,  Div.  Inst.,  i.  mans,  pp.  176  ff.;  Anthon,  Class.  Dici.j 

6.  4thed.,"Sibyllae." 
^  Vergil,  Aeneid,  vi.  331  ff  »  Annals,  vi.  12. 


DIVINE  MANIFESTATIONS  IN  NEW  TESTAMENT  TIMES  91 

from  various  places,  some  from  the  cities  of  Italy,  others  from  Erythrae 
in  Asia,  envoys  being  sent  to  transcribe  them  by  order  of  the  senate. 
Others  again  were  written  down  by  private  individuals,  amongjv\^hich  are 
many  spurious  ones.  These  may  be  detected  by  their  acrostic  char- 
acter."^ A  new  edition  of  this  second  canon  was  published  in  18  B.C. 
In  writing  of  various  activities  of  Augustus,  Dion  Cassius  says:  "The 
Sibylline  verses  which  had  become  indistinct  through  lapse  of  time,  he 
ordered  the  priests  to  copy  out  with  their  own  hands,  in  order  that  no 
one  else  should  read  them.  "^^  Duly  attested  additions  were  admitted 
to  the  canon  from  time  to  time.  The  basis  of  admission  was  authenticity 
of  authorship.  To  determine  this  point  the  writings  seeking  admission 
were  subjected  to  rigid  criticism.  Tacitus  refers  only  in  a  general  way 
to  the  critical  process  applied  when  the  second  canon  was  formed.  When 
the  verses  had  been  brought  together,  "the  sacerdotal  order  had  direc- 
tions, as  far  as  human  sagacity  could  distinguish,  to  separate  the  fictitious 
from  the  genuine  composition."  He  goes  somewhat  more  into  detail, 
however,  in  connection  with  a  book  which  came  up  for  admission  in  the 
year  32  a.d.  "A  report  relating  to  a  book  of  the  Sibyls  was  presented 
to  the  senate  by  Quinctihanus,  a  tribune  of  the  people.  Caninius  Gallus, 
who  was  of  the  college  of  the  fifteen,  considered  this  book  as  the 
undoubted  composition  of  the  Cumaean  prophetess;  and,  as  such,  desired 
that,  by  decree  of  the  senate,  it  might  be  enrolled  in  the  proper  archives. 
The  question  was  put  and  carried  without  opposition.  Tiberius  by  letter 
condemned  the  whole  proceeding.  The  youth  of  Quinctihanus,  he  ad- 
mitted, might  be  an  apology  for  his  ignorance  of  ancient  customs;  but  he 
observed,  and  not  without  asperity,  that  it  ill  became  a  man  like  Gallus, 
versed  in  the  science  of  laws  and  of  religious  ceremonies,  to  adopt  the 
performance  of  an  uncertain  author,  without  having  first  obtained  the 
sanction  of  the  quindecem viral  college,  and  without  so  much  as  reading 
it,  as  had  been  the  practice,  at  a  meeting  of  the  pontiffs  ...  in  conse- 
quence of  this  letter,  the  book  in  question  was  referred  to  the  college 
of  the  fifteen.  "^^  It  is  apparent  from  this  account  that  the  orthodoxy 
of  a  book  depended  upon  a  pronouncement  of  the  ecclesiastical  organiza- 
tion in  its  favor,  and  upon  an  action  of  the  senate  which  gave  it  a  legal 
place  in  the  canon. 

^  Dion.  Halic,  iv.  62.  "  Tacitus,  Annals,  vi.  12. 

10  Dion  Cass.,  iv.  123. 


92  DIVINE  MANIFESTATIONS  IN  NEW  TESTAMENT  TIMES 

In  the  case  of  the  above  book,  we  are  not  told  whether  it  was  declared 
authentic  or  not.  There  are  on  record,  however,  several  instances  in 
which  heretical  books  were  dealt  with.  When  Numa's  books  on  ponti- 
fical law  and  philosophy  were  discovered,  the  city  praetor  made  an  exam- 
nation,  and  finding  them  dangerous  to  religion,  he  had  them  burnt  be- 
fore a  public  assembly  by  the  hands  of  the  assistants  at  the  sacrifices.^^ 
This  was  in  the  year  181  B.C.  A  few  years  previously,  in  213  B.C.,  Roman 
orthodoxy  was  compelled  to  rehabilitate  itself  against  various  forms  of 
heresy.  "The  Roman  ritual  was  growing  into  disuse  not  only  in  secret 
and  in  private  houses;  even  in  public  places,  in  the  forum  and  the  capitol, 
crowds  of  women  were  to  be  seen  who  were  offering  neither  sacrifices  nor 
prayers  in  accordance  with  ancient  usage.  Unauthorized  sacrificers  and 
diviners  had  got  possession  of  men's  minds  and  the  numbers  of  their 
dupes  were  swelled  by  the  crowds  of  country  people  whom  poverty  or 
fear  had  driven  into  the  city  .  .  .  respectable  citizens  protested  .  .  . 
formal  complaint  was  made  to  the  senate.  The  aediles  and  commis- 
sioners of  poHce  were  severely  reprimanded  by  the  senate  for  not  pre- 
venting these  abuses  ...  as  the  mischief  appeared  too  much  for  the  in- 
ferior magistrates  to  deal  with,  M.  Aemihus,  city  praetor,  was  entrusted 
with  the  task  of  delivering  the  people  from  their  superstitions.  He  read 
the  resolution  of  the  senate  before  the  assembly  and  gave  notice  that  all 
those  who  had  in  their  possession  manuals  of  prophecy,  or  forms  of  prayer, 
or  sacrificial  ritual  in  writing  were  to  bring  all  their  books  and  writings 
to  him  before  the  first  of  April.  "^^  In  the  time  of  Augustus  Roman  or- 
thodoxy was  again  compelled  to  take  drastic  measures  against  heretical 
books.  As  soon  as  the  emperor  became  pontifex  maximus,  he  "  caused 
all  prophetical  books,  both  in  Latin  and  Greek,  the  authors  of  which  were 
either  unknown  or  of  no  great  authority,  to  be  brought  in;  and  the  whole 
collection,  amounting  to  upwards  of  two  thousand  volumes,  he  com- 
mitted to  the  flames,  preserving  only  the  Sibylline  oracles.  "^"^  It  is  also 
reported  that  L.  Petillius  for  the  same  reason  pubhcly  burnt  certain 
Greek  books  as  endangering  the  religion  of  Rome.^^ 

The  usages  to  which  the  books  were  put  touched  various  departments 
of  life.  The  assumption  in  their  employment  was  that  deity  was  ready 
and  willing  to  help  men  and  that  from  the  books  could  be  obtained  the 
information  necessary  to  make  the  help  effective.    It  was  thus  that  de- 

"  Livy,  xl.  29.  w  Suet.  Aug.  31. 

^^Idem,xxv.L  ^^  Valerius    Maximus,    i.    1. 


DIVINE  MANIFESTATIONS  IN  NEW  TESTAMENT  TIMES  93 

mons  and  disease  were  often  dealt  with.  Lucian,  in  Philopsetides,  es- 
pecially 10,  11,  and  31,  criticizes  current  views  holding  that  holy  iiames, 
sacred  formulae,  and  adjurations  taken  from  Egyptian  and  other  books 
were  able  to  cure  tumors  and  fevers,  drive  away  reptiles,  and  expel  de- 
mons. Plutarch  relates  that  the  famous  Ephesian  ypa/jL/jLara  were  used  in 
exorcisms.  The  magi,  he  states,  commanded  the  possessed  person  to 
repeat  the  formulae.^^  Forecasts  of  the  future  were  also  obtained  from 
the  sacred  books.  Isocrates  relates  that  Thrasyllus,  using  the  books  of 
the  seer  Ptolemaentus,  became  a  proficient  foreteller  of  future  events.^^ 
The  maiden  forced  to  prophesy  at  Delphi  attempted  to  refuse  on  the 
ground  that  the  Sibylline  books  contain  the  "secrets  of  the  future,"  and 
that  therefore  it  is  unnecessary  to  enquire  of  the  god.^^  Cicero  calls 
attention  to  a  number  of  Sibylline  prophecies  which  were  fulfilled  as  the 
books  foretold.  Among  these  were  a  discoloration  of  the  Tiber  by  blood, 
showers  of  stones,  blood,  mud,  and  milk,  the  destruction  by  lightning  of 
temples  at  Tusculum  and  Rome,  and  the  sack  of  the  city  by  the  Gauls.^^ 
In  like  manner  the  prophetic  books  of  Marcius,  which  the  Romans  laid 
up  and  guarded  along  with  the  Sibylline  canon,^^  prophesied  the  defeat 
of  the  Roman  army  at  Cannae.^^  The  treason  of  Tydeus  and  Adiman- 
tus,  and  the  resultant  disaster  for  the  Athenians  at  Aegospotamoi,  were 
foretold  in  the  writings  of  the  Sibyl.^^  A  large  part,  moreover,  was 
played  by  the  sacred  book  in  furnishing  the  information  necessary  to  as- 
sure the  aid  and  protection  of  deity  both  in  individual  and  political  af- 
fairs. Here  the  assumption  that  the  gods  are  ready  and  willing  to  aid 
men  and  states  comes  into  especial  prominence.  The  only  condition  im- 
posed by  deity  was  that  men  should  do  the  divine  will.  What  this  will 
was  could  be  learned  from  the  sacred  book.  It  was  due  to  a  suggestion 
of  the  Sibylline  books  that  the  Romans  in  204  B.C.  imported  the  Cybele- 
Attis  cult  from  Phrygia  to  Rome  for  the  purpose  of  securing  divine  help 
against  Hannibal.^^  At  the  instigation  of  the  book  of  the  prophet  Mar- 
cius the  Romans  set  up  the  worship  of  Apollo  in  the  capital  as  a  provision 
for  securing  deity's  assistance  against  foreign  foes.  In  reporting  the 
circumstance,  Livy  states  that  the  Sibylline  books,  when  consulted,  were 
found  not  only  to  be  in  agreement  but  to  contain  minute  directions  con- 
cerning the  proper  procedure  to  be  followed,  and  takes  occasion  to  call 

"  Symposium,  vii.  5,  4.  "  Livy,   xxv.    12;    Macrob.,   Sat.y 

"xix.  5,  6.  i.  17. 

18  Lucan,  Phars.,  v.  140  ff.  22  paus.  x.  9. 

19  Divination,  i.  43,  44.  ^  Livy,  xxix.  10-14. 

2°  Serv.,  ad.  Virg.  Aen.,  vi.  72. 


94  DIVINE  MANIFESTATIONS  IN  NEW  TESTAMENT  TIMES 

attention  to  the  fact  that  the  worship  was  estabHshed  "for  the  cause  of 
victory,  and  not,  as  is  generally  thought,  in  the  interests  of  the  pubUc 
health.  "^^  The  books  of  Numa  prescribed  the  exact  forms  in  which  wor- 
ship was  to  be  paid  to  Jupiter  EHcius  in  order  to  secure  his  assistance.^ 
Plutarch  relates  that  the  book  called  the  Birthdays  of  Osiris  laid  down 
rules  for  sacrifices  to  the  sun  on  the  fourth  of  the  month  and  set  limits  to 
the  quantity  of  wine  which  a  priest  might  consume.^^  A  concrete  exam- 
ple of  securing  divine  help  by  observing  the  will  of  deity  may  be  men- 
tioned. The  success  of  Rome's  enemies  during  the  Punic  wars  indicated 
that  the  national  gods  were  not  assisting  the  armies  of  the  state.  Indeed, 
portents  of  various  sorts  revealed  the  fact  that  they  even  contemplated 
sending  disaster.  Consultation  of  the  Sibylline  books  showed  that  the 
gods  were  angry  because  certain  feasts  and  sacrifices  had  been  omitted, 
and  because  gifts  had  not  been  given  to  Jupiter,  Juno,  and  Minerva. 
These  matters  were  at  once  rectified,  and  "  the  people  were  ordered  to 
make  that  day  a  festival  and  observe  it  as  such  forever.  "^^  The  sacred 
book  again  played  its  part  in  guaranteeing  for  the  soul  blessedness  both 
here  and  hereafter.  Critodemus  wrote  a  book  entitled  Visions,  which 
furnished  information  for  obtaining  a  safe  harbor  from  the  storms  of  this 
life  and  for  securing  immortahty  in  the  one  to  come.^^  One  of  the  most 
ancient  volumes  which  guaranteed  a  blessed  immortahty  was  the  Egyp- 
tian Book  of  the  Dead.  According  to  Professor  Breasted,  the  Egyptian 
had  numerous  books  fulfilling  this  purpose,  such  as  the  Book  of  What  Is 
in  the  Nether  World,  the  Book  of  the  Two  Ways,  and  the  Book  of  the  Portals, 
The  object  of  all  of  these,  according  to  Breasted,  was  to  minister  to  man's 
rehgious  necessity  by  assuring  him  a  bhssful  future  state.^^  For  example, 
the  Egyptian  peasant,  compelled  during  life  to  hard  labor  in  tilling  the 
soil,  did  not  desire  a  hereafter  in  which  agriculture  figured  to  any  extent; 
consequently  chapter  1 10  of  the  Book  of  the  Dead  gives  him  the  informa- 
tion necessary  to  win  from  deity  the  kind  of  existence  he  desires  in  the 
Elysian  fields.  In  certain  early  Christian  circles  a  high  opinion  was  enter- 
tained regarding  the  religious  and  theological  teachings  of  the  Sibylline 
books.  Lactantius,  for  example,  claims  that  they  inculcated  a  pure 
monotheism.    He  finds,  indeed,  no  difficulty  in  discovering  five  or  six 

^  Ibid.,  XXV.  12.  28Vettius     Valens,     iii.      12;     ix. 

^  Ibid.,  i.  31.  prooem. 

26  Isis  and  Osiris,  6  and  52.  29  jji^t,  of  Egypt,  pp.  175,  249  ff.; 

2^Livy,  xxi.  62;  xxii.  1.  571,  etc. 


DIVINE  MANIFESTATIONS  IN  NEW  TESTAMENT  TIMES  95 

texts  in  the  Sibylline  writings  on  which  he  is  able  to  base  a  discourse  on 
monotheism.  One  which  he  quotes  from  the  Sibyl  may  be  here  repro- 
duced: ''One  God  who  alone  is  most  mighty,  uncreated."  "The  others 
are  of  a  similar  tenor.^^  Augustine  was  so  impressed  by  the  Sibylline 
writings  that  he  declared  their  author  undoubtedly  belonged  to  the  King- 
dom of  God.^^ 

The  people  of  the  Graeco-Roman  world  thus  secured  from  deity  divine 
information  by  means  of  their  sacred  books.  This  information  enabled 
them  to  forecast  the  future;  it  inculcated,  in  the  opinions  of  certain 
Christians  at  least,  the  practice  of  a  monotheistic  religion.  But  most  of 
all,  it  enabled  them  to  secure  from  deity  practical  help  in  getting  done 
the  things  they  needed  to  have  done.  By  means  of  information  from  the 
sacred  book  they  could  gain  supernatural  aid  in  the  overthrow  of  other 
supernatural  agencies  which  caused  sickness  and  disease;  by  its  use  they 
were  able  to  render  to  deity  the  kind  of  worship  which  caused  him  to  pre- 
serve and  protect  the  state;  and  by  it  they  secured  for  themselves  a  bliss- 
ful status  in  the  world  to  come.  In  a  very  real  sense,  the  information 
derived  from  the  sacred  book  enabled  the  Graeco-Roman  effectively  to 
lay  hold  on  God. 

The  Hebrews  and  the  Jews  were  thoroughly  conversant  with  the  idea 
of  the  sacred  book.  The  outstanding  evidence  here  is  of  course  found  in 
the  fact  that  we  today  are  in  possession  of  several  collections  of  these 
writings.  References  in  this  literature  to  various  volumes  indicate  that 
the  use  of  such  collections  was  very  widespread  indeed.  //  Mace.  2:13, 
14  speaks  of  "writings  and  commentaries  of  Neemias, "  and  of  how  he  in 
"founding  a  library  gathered  together  the  acts  of  the  kings,  and  the 
prophets  and  of  David,  and  the  epistles  of  the  kings  concerning  gifts. " 
"Sealed  books"  are  often  mentioned,^^  likewise  "Books  of  Remem- 
brance,"^^ "Heavenly  Books, "^'^  and  "Books  of  the  Discipline  of  the 
Children  of  Men."^^  It  is  related  that  Abraham  learned  the  sacred 
Hebrew  language  from  certain  mysterious  volumes.^®  In  addition,  we 
read  of  sacred  books  in  possession  of  the  Essenes,^^  of  certain  incantations 
and  formulae  left  behind  by  Solomon,^^  of  the  "Book  of  Hagu,"^^  and  of 
the  "Book  of  Noah.  "40 

'"  Divine  Institutes,  i.  6.  '*  Jubilees,  12:37. 

31  City  of  God,  xviii.  23.  "  josephus,  War,  ii.  8,  7. 

^"^  I  Enoch,  89:70,  71.  38  Josephus,  Antt.,  viii.  2. 

''Zadok.  Work.,ix.43.  '^  Zadok.  Work,  11:2;  15:5;  17:5. 

34  Pirke  Aboth,  2:1;  3:3.  ««  Jubilees,  10:10-15. 

^  Jubilees,  36:10. 


96  DIVINE  MANIFESTATIONS  IN  NEW  TESTAMENT  TIMES 

Views  as  to  how  mankind  came  into  possession  of  volumes  of  this  kind 
varied  somewhat,  but  underneath  all  differences  lay  the  notion  that  in 
some  manner  they  passed  from  deity  to  men.  We  noticed  above  two 
views  regarding  the  origin  of  the  Mosaic  law,  one  that  the  whole  book 
was  written  by  God  and  in  its  completed  form  given  to  Moses  in  the 
Mount,  the  other  that  one  roll  was  delivered  to  him  at  a  time.^^  Another 
view  was  that  Moses  was  instructed  by  God  and  that  he  wrote  the  law 
with  his  own  hand  under  divine  inspiration.^^  xhe  Midrasch  Bereschith 
rabba,  viii.2,  relates  that  "R.  Simon  ben  Lakisch  says,  'The  Law  was  in 
existence  two  thousand  years  before  the  creation  of  the  world'  ",  and  a 
Samaritan  tradition  has  it  that  ''The  Tables  were  sundered  from  the 
divine  essence.  "^^  A  fair  average  of  Hebrew  opinion  on  this  question  is 
perhaps  to  be  found  in  Hos.  8:12,  where  Yahweh  says:  "I  wrote  for  him 
(Ephraim)  the  myriad  precepts  of  my  law. "  The  contents  of  the  Book 
of  Noah  was  revealed  to  him  by  the  angels,  written  down  by  him,  and 
passed  on  to  his  son  Shem.  In  the  case  of  the  information  left  behind  by 
Solomon,  Josephus  reports  that  God  taught  Solomon  wisdom,  and  that 
it  was  this  divine  wisdom  which  formed  the  substance  of  the  king's  be- 
quest to  posterity.  Philo  claims  the  Ten  Commandments  were  audibly 
spoken  to  all  the  assembly  of  the  people,  and  that  Moses  later  wrote  them 
down.^ 

Our  sources  indicate  that  the  uses  made  of  the  sacred  book  lay  in 
various  directions.  The  Book  of  Hagu  is  mentioned  alongside  the  Book 
of  the  Law,  and  is  supposed  to  have  contained  a  body  of  secret  precepts  for 
the  conduct  of  the  priests.^  The  "  wisdom  "  left  behind  by  Solomon  con- 
sisted of  "incantations  by  which  distempers  are  alleviated, "  and  of  "  the 
manner  of  using  exorcisms."  Josephus,  in  speaking  of  this  "wisdom," 
illustrates  how  effective  it  was  against  demons  by  relating  the  story  of 
Eleazer,  who,  by  making  use  of  the  information,  was  able  to  draw  an 
evil  spirit  out  of  a  man's  nostrils.  The  spirit,  in  proof  of  its  departure, 
overturned  a  basin  of  water  near  the  door.  The  contents  of  the  Book 
of  Noah  appear  to  have  functioned  in  a  similar  way.  The  angels  say  of 
it:  "All  the  means  of  healing  diseases  caused  by  demons  we  made  known 
to  Noah,  together  with  their  arts  of  seduction,  and  how  they  are  cured 

*^  Gittin,  60  A.  "  W.  Gesenius,  Carmina  Samari- 

42  Baha    bathra,   15  A;  Philo,  Vita      tana,  iv.  18. 
Mos.,  iii.  39;   Josephus,   Antt.,  iv.   8,  **  Philo,  Ten  Commandments,  11. 

48.  *^Zadokite      Work,      11:2;      15:5; 

17:5;  Charles,  Apoc.  &  Pseud.,  inloc. 


DIVINE  MANIFESTATIONS  IN  NEW  TESTAMENT  TIMES  97 

by  the  plants  of  the  earth;  and  Noah  wrote  all  down  we  had  taught  him  in 
a  book,  of  every  kind  of  means  of  heahng. "  The  sacred  books  of  the 
Essenes,  according  to  Josephus,  were  especially  valuable  for  the  purpose 
of  foretelling  the  future.  By  means  of  them,  he  states,  the  Essenes  rarely 
ever  went  astray  in  their  predictions.  Favorite  themes  of  prophecy  were 
the  future  of  the  state  and  the  coming  of  Messiah.  The  book  of  Daniel 
was  esteemed  as  especially  important  in  this  respect.  Josephus  informs 
us  that  in  his  day  Daniel  was  more  popular  than  any  other  prophecy. 
"  He  not  only  unfolds,  as  other  prophets  do,  but  tells  the  exact  time  when 
things  are  to  occur;  and  whilst  other  prophets  foretell  misfortune,  and  on 
that  account  are  hated  by  the  people,  Daniel  was  a  messenger  of  peace, 
and  was  beloved  on  account  of  the  glad  prospects  which  he  announced; 
and  since  the  result  corresponded  with  the  predictions,  he  obtained  from 
the  people  faith  and  reverence.  "^  In  the  same  chapter  Josephus  speci- 
fies several  prophecies  in  Daniel  which  had  been  fulfilled.  He  also  states 
that  the  desolation  of  the  temple  by  Antiochus  during  the  Maccabean 
period  "came  to  pass  according  to  the  prophecy  of  Daniel ,  which  was 
given  408  years  before,  for  he  declared  that  the  Macedonians  would  dis- 
solve that  worship.  "^^  Mk.  13:14  undoubtedly  reflects  a  current  Jewish 
expectation  of  seeing  "  the  abomination  of  desolation  spoken  of  by  Daniel 
the  prophet"  before  the  end  of  the  age  should  come.  Mt.  11:10  in  a 
similar  manner  reflects  a  Jewish  interpretation  of  John  the  Baptist  in 
terms  of  Mai.  3:1  ff.  Such  passages  as  //  Sam.  7:12  ff.,  Ps.  89:3  ff., 
Isa.  11:1,  Mic.  5:2,  and  Jer.  23:5  were  regarded  by  the  scribes  of  Jesus' 
day  as  foretelling  the  coming  of  a  messianic  king  in  the  person  of  a  son 
of  David.^^  Baruch  2:2,  3  explains  the  desolation  of  Israel  as  a  fulfil- 
ment of  what  was  "written  in  the  law  of  Moses,  that  a  man  should  eat 
the  flesh  of  his  own  son,  and  the  flesh  of  his  own  daughter. "  /  Mace. 
1:25-27  sees  in  the  statement  of  Deut.  18:15,  "a  faithful  prophet  like 
unto  me  will  the  Lord  raise  up  unto  thee, "  a  prophetic  allusion  to  the 
Messiah.  Bar  Cochba's  advent,  according  to  R.  Akiba,  had  been  fore- 
told in  Num.  24:17,  where  it  is  said,  "There  shall  come  a  star  out  of 
Jacob,  and  a  scepter  shall  arise  out  of  Israel,  and  shall  smite  in  pieces 
both  sides  of  Moab.  "^^    In  a  similar  manner  the  rabbis  interpreted 

*«  ^««.,  X.  11.  *^  Jerusalem    Tal.y      Taanith.,    iv. 

*^  Antt.,  xii.  7.  fol.  68  d,  Cracow  ed.;  quoted  Schurer, 

^^Mk.,     12:35  ff.;     ML  22:41  ff.;      Hist,  of  Jew.  People,  3rd.  ed.,  I.  i.298, 

Lk.,    20:41  ff.;    Jn.,  7:4:2.  n.  83. 


98  DIVINE  MANIFESTATIONS  IN  NEW  TESTAMENT  TIMES 

Isa.  53  as  pointing  to  the  coming  of  a  suffering  Messiah.^^  Other  exam- 
ples of  prophecy  may  be  cited,  referring  to  the  same  general  themes: 
Ecclesiasticus  47:11-22,  Baruch  4:18-5:9,  /  Mace.  2:57,  //  Mace.  2:18, 
Wisdom  of  Solomon  2:12-5:10,  Enoch  90:16-38,  Psalms  of  Solomon  17:1-51, 
Assumption  of  Moses  10:1  ff..  Jubilees  passim,  and  the  Jewish  Sihyllines 
iii.  652-749.51 

The  sacred  book  was  also  used  as  a  storehouse  from  which  to  derive 
the  information  necessary  to  cause  God  to  protect  and  preserve  the  nation. 
This  aspect  of  the  matter  came  into  prominence  about  the  time  of  Ezra 
and  Nehemiah.  The  task  of  pious  Jews  during  the  Captivity  had  been  to 
explain  how  it  happened  that  Yahweh  had  allowed  his  chosen  people  to 
come  into  such  straits.  The  answer  made  was  that  disaster  had  overtak- 
en the  state  because  the  ordinances  of  Yahweh  had  been  neglected  and 
transgressed.^^  This  forsaking  of  the  law  had  been  of  old^^  and  had  been 
often  repeated.^^  The  present  affliction  was  due  to  similar  remissness 
and  was  richly  deserved.^  Yet  a  full  end  had  not  been  made  of  the  na- 
tion.^^  The  pious  remnant  which  Yahweh's  undeserved  mercy  had  pre- 
served now  undertook  not  only  to  provide  against  similar  repetitions  of 
future  calamity  but  also  to  assure  themselves  of  deity's  active  participa^ 
tion  in  the  welfare  of  the  commonwealth.  The  plan  pursued  was  to  seal 
a  covenant  with  Yahweh  whereby  he  was  irrevocably  bound  to  fulfil  his 
promises  to  the  nation  if  the  nation  on  its  side  did  his  will.^^  What  his 
will  was  could  be  learned  from  a  sacred  book.  The  character  of  this  book 
is  in  dispute.  It  is  referred  to  as  "the  book  of  the  law  of  Moses, "  "the 
words  of  the  law, "  "right  ordinances  and  true  laws, "  "  statutes  and  com- 
mandments, "  "  thy  law, "  and  "  Yahweh's  law  which  was  given  by  Moses 
the  servant  of  Yahweh.  "^^  On  the  question  of  its  contents  the  reader  is 
referred  to  the  Encyclopaedia  Biblica,  article  "  Ezra, "  vol.  ii,  cols.  1476-78, 
where  the  view  is  advanced  that  it  consisted  in  all  probability  of  the 
Book  of  the  Covenant,^^  Deuteronomy,  and  the  priestly  law  book  which 
forms  a  large  portion  of  the  Hexateuch.    However  this  problem  may  be 

^^Sanhedrin,    98    b   in    Wunsche,  ^^  Neh.,   9:13  ff.,    26;    Ez.,   9:7    a. 

Die  Leiden  des  Messias,  p.  56  ff.;  cf.  ^^  Neh.  9:27. 

Schiirer,  3rd.  ed.,  I.  ii.  185  ff .  s^  Neh.,  9 :33-37 ;  Ez.,  9 :7  b. 

"On    date    and    authorship,    see  ^^  Neh.,  9:31;  Ex.,  9  :S,  13-15. 

Schurer,  3rd  ed.  II,  ii.  139  ff .  "  Neh.,  9 :38. 

52  Bar.,  3:5,  10;  4:6,  13;  Ez.,  9:10;  ^s  n^^.,  8:1,  2,  9;  9:13,  29;  10:29. 

Neh.,  9:13  ff.;  /  Esdras  8:86,  87;  Jer.,  ^9  Ex.,  chs.  21-23. 
44:1-14. 


DIVINE  MANIFESTATIONS  IN  NEW  TESTAMENT  TIMES  99 

settled,  the  book  or  books  in  question  prescribed  numerous  items  of 
conduct,  among  which  were  sabbath  observance,  no  marriage  with  for- 
eigners, abandonment  of  trade  with  foreigners  on  the  sabbath^  no  exac- 
tion in  matters  of  debt,  the  sabbatical  year,  taxes,  tithes,  and  temple  regu- 
lations.^^ Circumcision  is  not  included  in  the  Hst.  The  reason  probably 
is  that  it  was  too  deeply  rooted  in  the  practice  of  the  people  to  need  re- 
instatement. The  conception  of  the  pious  Jew  as  to  what  influence  the 
observance  of  such  requirements  would  have  upon  Yahweh  is  clearly 
brought  out  by  the  Book  of  Jubilees.  The  law  is  the  ultimate  and  com- 
plete expression  of  the  divine  will,  and  as  such  precludes  further  revela- 
tion.^^ Observance  of  the  law  will  bring  Yahweh's  preservation  and  bless- 
ing upon  the  nation,  and  the  nation  will  be  his  and  he  will  be  theirs  hence- 
forth forever ;^2  but  if  the  nation  fails  in  the  observance,  his  wrath  will  be 
great,  and  the  people  will  be  moved  out  of  the  land:  there  is  no  pardon 
for  such  eternal  error.^^  The  efficacy  of  strict  legal  observance  in  pro- 
curing practical  benefits  went  to  the  extent  even  of  the  winning  of  battles. 
Two  interpretations,  of  course,  may  be  applied  to  the  circumstance  re- 
corded in  //  Mace,  8 :23  ff.  Judas  Maccabeus,  before  engaging  Nicanor, 
divided  his  army  among  himself  and  three  brothers,  and,  in  the  hearing 
of  the  assembled  troops,  "made  Eleazer  read  aloud  the  holy  book." 
Judas  and  his  inferior  army  then  went  into  battle  against  the  Syrians, 
"and  since  the  Almighty  fought  on  their  side  they  slew  over  9,000  of  the 
enemy. "  It  is  possible  to  say  that  the  Jews  held  to  such  a  mechanical 
connection  between  deity  and  his  law  that  the  mere  reading  of  it  would 
compel  him  to  participate  in  the  battle;  and  this  interpretation  is,  it  is 
true,  borne  out  by  the  fact  that  in  the  Liber  Josuae  we  read  that  the 
Samaritans  held  the  simple  reading  of  the  law  in  the  presence  of  a  pos- 
sessed person  drove  out  demons  and  healed  disease.^^  A  more  plausible 
view  is  in  all  likelihood  one  which  holds  that  the  efficacy  of  the  thing  com- 
pelling Yahweh  to  fight  against  the  Syrians  was  not  the  reading  of  the 
law,  but  the  fact  that  the  pious  in  Israel  had  all  along  been  doing  it. 
According  to  the  covenant  sealed  and  signed  between  Yahweh  and  his 
people  in  the  time  of  Ezra  and  Nehemiah,^^  Yahweh  had  obligated  him- 
self to  protect  the  nation  on  condition  that  the  nation  did  certain  things. 

'°  iVe^.,  10:30  ff.  ^*  Chronkon.    Samaritanum:  Liber 

^^  Jubilees,  15:25,28.  Josuae,  23,  ed.  Juynboll;  cited  Mont- 

•2  Ibid.,  15:32.  gomery,  Samaritans,  p.  234,  n.  132. 
"  Ibid.,  15:34.  ^  Neh.,  9:10;  Ez.,  10:3-5. 


100  DIVINE  MANIFESTATIONS  IN  NEW  TESTAMENT  TIMES 

Judas  and  his  company  undoubtedly  represented  that  tendency  in  Israel 
which  stood  for  the  rigid  observance  of  the  requirements  which  Yahweh 
had  laid  down  in  the  book.  Therefore  the  reading  of  the  book  before 
the  battle  was  intended  to  remind  pious  Jews  of  the  fact  that  deity  was 
obhgated  by  their  past  conduct  to  fight  with  them,  to  call  to  their  atten- 
tion his  promise  to  do  so,  and  to  send  them  with  courage  into  battle.  The 
arrangement  was  fully  as  mechanical  as  the  one  presupposed  by  the  other 
interpretation,  but  the  force  which  laid  hold  on  deity  is  different.  In 
later  Judaism  the  keeping  of  the  law  seems  to  have  become  quite  an 
automatic  means  of  securing  benefits.  The  keeping  of  the  command- 
ments and  the  ordinances  will  provide  much  reward  now,  says  Makkoth 
iii.  16.  One  of  the  rewards  was  the  establishment  of  the  Kingdom.  The 
scribal  view  was  that  if  the  Jew  did  his  part,  that  is,  if  he  scrupulously 
did  the  things  Yahweh  commanded  in  his  law,  Yahweh  would  be  obhged 
to  send  it.  "If  all  Israel  together  would  make  common  repentance  for 
one  day,  then  would  redemption  come  through  Messiah."  If  Israel 
observed  only  two  Sabbaths  perfectly,  yes,  if  she  kept  only  one,  she 
would  be  redeemed.^^  Against  this  desire  to  win  reward  by  legahstic 
observance  the  prophets  of  Israel  had  inveighed."  For  the  precepts 
upon  which  the  scribal  view  of  conduct  was  based  they  desired  to  sub- 
stitute others  of  a  different  kind;  but  it  is  an  open  question  whether  the 
so-called  prophetic  ethics,  which  these  preachei-s  desired  Israel  to  follow 
as  a  rule  of  precept  and  practice,  were  ethics  for  their  own  sake  or  for  the 
sake  of  the  influence  they  were  held  to  exert  on  determining  the  conduct 
of  Yahweh  in  his  relation  to  the  commonwealth. 

The  sacred  book  thus  benefitted  the  Hebrew  in  the  same  way  that  it 
benefitted  the  gentile.  It  enabled  him  to  foretell  the  future;  it  incul- 
cated certain  views  on  theology  and  on  human  conduct.  But  above  all, 
it  gave  to  the  Hebrew  the  information  necessary  to  cause  the  spiritual 
powers  to  do  what  he  wanted  done.  Formulae  and  incantations  invoked 
one  class  of  spirits  to  deal  with  others  which  caused  sickness  and  disease. 
Minute  directions  for  conduct  under  various  circumstances  obhged  Yah- 
weh to  protect  and  preserve  the  state,  or  to  establish  a  new  one  in  which 
the  pious  IsraeHte  expected  to  enjoy  a  future  of  happiness  and  bhss. 

Christians  from  the  first  appropriated  the  sacred  books  of  the  Jews. 
"These  things  .  .  .  were  written  for  our  admonition,"  "for  our  sake  it 

^'^  Pesikta   163  b;  Sabbath   118  b;  ^'' For  exa.mp\e,  Micah,  6:6-S. 

Schemoth     rabba    25;    quoted     Weber, 
Jud.  TheoL,  2  Aufl.,  SS.  348-9. 


DIVINE  MANIFESTATIONS  IN  NEW  TESTAMENT  TIMES  101 

was  written,"  ''it  was  .  .  .  written  ...  for  our  sakes  also,"  and 
''these  things  were  written  ...  for  our  learning,"  are  expressions  in- 
dicating Paul's  view  of  the  relation  between  the  Jewish  sacredbooks  and 
the  new  religion.^^  Just  what  Jewish  books  the  Christians  regarded  as 
sacred  is  difficult  to  determine.  Jude  14,  for  example,  quotes  Enoch 
1:9  as  true  prophecy.  Quotations  in  the  New  Testament  indicate  that 
much  importance  was  attached  to  most  of  those  contained  in  our  present 
Old  Testament  collection.  On  the  question  of  the  Jewish  canon,  its 
formation,  contents,  etc.,  the  reader  is  referred  to  the  Jewish  Encyclo- 
paedia, vol.  iii,  article  "Bible  Canon,"  pp.  145-7.  On  the  relation  be- 
tween the  canonical  writings  and  other  writings  of  the  Jews,  see  Charles, 
Apocrypha  and  Pseudepigrapha,  vol.  i,  pp.  viii,  ix.  Toy,  Quotations  in 
the  New  Testament,  pp.  x  ff.,  discusses  the  various  versions  in  which  these 
books  appeared.  Toy's  work  is  valuable  for  a  study  of  what  books  the 
New  Testament  writers  quoted,  and  how  they  quoted  them. 

The  estimate  put  by  Christians  upon  these  writings  appropriated  from 
Judaism  was  as  high  as  that  accorded  them  by  their  original  possessors. 
Thus  //  Pet.  1:21  claims  that  "no  prophecy  ever  came  by  man,  but  men 
spake  from  God  as  they  were  moved  by  the  Holy  Ghost. "  Other  pas- 
sages refer  to  them  as  "scripture"  or  " scriptures, "^^  "prophecy  of  scrip- 
ture, "70  " law,  "71 "  law  and  the  prophets,  "^2  and  "  law  of  Moses.  "^^  The 
prophets  "spake  in  the  name  of  the  Lord."^^  When  quotations  are 
made,  the  formula  Xe7et  is  frequently  used,  often  without  an  expressed 
subject,  the  devout  reader  in  these  cases  probably  supplying  in  his 
mind  the  subject  6  debs.'^^  Thus  in  reading  these  writings,  the  Christian 
felt  that  God  was  speaking  to  him. 

In  the  use  made  of  the  inspired  book,  the  Christian  had  certain  advan- 
tages over  the  Jew.  This  is  especially  apparent  in  the  matter  of  dealing 
with  demons  and  disease.  The  Jew,  according  to  Josephus,  went  to  the 
lore  bequeathed  by  Solomon  for  information  that  would  be  effective 
against  them.  The  Christian  was  not  dependent  for  this  purpose  upon  a 
book.     In  the  name  of  Jesus  he  possessed  a  means  of  combatting  such 

«8/     Cor.,     10:11;     9:10;  Rom.,              ''^  ML,     12:5;     Ram.,     2:18;    Lk., 

4:23,  24;  15:4;  cf./ Cor.,  10:6.  10:26;    24:44;    Acts,    24:14;    /    Cor., 

^^  Mk.,    12:10;    15:18;    Lk.,  4:21;      9:9;  14:21. 

Jn.,  2:22;  Acts,  1:16;  8:32,  35;  Rom.,               ''^  Acts,  13:15;  28:23. 

4:3;   11:2;  Gal.,  4:30;  //   Tim.,  3:15;  '^  ^c/5,  13:39;  15:5. 

II  Pet.,  3:16.  •>*  J  as.,  5:10. 

^«  //  Pet.,  1 :20.  "  For  example,  Jas.,  4 :6. 


102  DIVINE  MANIFESTATIONS  IN  NEW  TESTAMENT  TIMES 

evils  which  was  more  powerful  than  any  formula  left  behind  by  antiqui- 
ty. ^^  Other  Christians  found  it  unnecessary  to  employ  the  sacred  book  for 
this  purpose  because  prayer  and  anointing  with  oil  were  sufficient.  ^^  In 
the  field  of  prophecy  the  sacred  book  was  accorded  a  large  place.  While 
the  Christians  produced  prophetical  books  of  their  own,  such  as  the 
Apocalypse  and  the  Shepherd  of  Hermas,  they  yet  placed  much  depen- 
dence for  this  purpose  upon  the  books  of  the  Jews.  They  discovered 
that  the  Old  Testament  writings  had  foretold  the  whole  career  of  Jesus 
and  the  entire  history  of  the  Christian  community.  This  comes  out 
with  great  clearness,  for  example  in  Matthew.  Here  Jesus'  birth  from  a 
virgin,  his  origin  in  Bethlehem,  the  flight  into  Egypt,  the  slaughter  of 
the  infants,  the  prehminary  activity  of  John  the  Baptist,  Jesus'  withdraw- 
al from  Gahlee  to  Capernaum,  his  refusal  to  announce  pubHcly  his  Mes- 
siahship,  his  denial  by  the  Jews,  his  teaching  in  parables,  and  his  entry 
into  Jerusalem,  are  all  found  to  be  definitely  predicted  in  the  Old  Testa- 
ment, ^^  Paul  relates  that  his  resurrection  on  the  third  day  was  according 
to  the  scriptures,  but  fails  to  specify  the  particular  passage.^®  Hebrews 
finds  in  the  Old  Testament  many  passages  which  predicted  the  nature 
of  his  person. ^°  According  to  the  early  chapters  of  the  Acts,  the  out- 
pouring of  the  Spirit  at  Pentecost  had  been  foretold  in  Joel,  and  in  the 
last  chapter  it  is  reported  that  the  rejection  of  the  gospel  by  the  Jews 
had  been  indicated  in  Isaiah.  The  Spirit  through  the  ancient  prophets 
'*  testified  beforehand  the  sufferings  of  Christ,  and  the  glories  that  should 
follow  them";^^  the  persecution  likewise  of  his  followers  had  been  forseen 
in  P5. 44:22.82 

In  employing  the  sacred  book  as  a  means  of  learning  the  will  of  deity 
in  order  to  win  reward  by  the  performance  of  that  will,  Christians  took  the 
same  attitude  as  the  Romans  and  the  Jews.  In  fact  Christians  simply 
took  over  into  their  own  thought  the  Jewish  notion  of  a  covenant  relation 
with  deity,  and  substituted  themselves  for  the  party  of  the  second  part. 
In  justification  of  this  procedure  they  pointed  out  that  long  before  it  had 
been  predicted  that  the  Jews  would  refuse  the  gospel,^  and  that  they 
actually  did  so  willingly. ^^  Rom.  9:25,  26  and  Gal.  3:8  quote  Old  Testa- 
ment passages  to  show  that  the  acceptance  of  the  Gentiles  had  been  fore- 

7«  Acts,  3:6;  4:12;  16:18;  Eph.,  1:  ^o  1.5  ff.;  5:6,  7.;  7:17,  21  etc. 

21;  Phil.,  2:9,  10.  »W  Pet.,  1:11. 

"  Jas.,  5 :14  ff.  82  r^,^^^  io:35,  36. 

78  M/.,     1:23;    2:6,    15,    17;    3:3:  ^^  Mt.,  13:14:. 

4:14ff.;  12:16;  13:35;  21:4  ff.  84/„,^  7.I3.  8:39;  10:19. 

•'^  I  Cor.,  15:4. 


DIVINE  MANIFESTATIONS  IN  NEW  TESTAMENT  TIMES  103 

told.  Rom.  10:19  proves  from  Deut.  32:21  and  Isa.  65:1,  2  that  Israel 
had  been  warned  of  the  transition  of  its  privileges  to  the  Gentiles.  So 
complete  did  some  Christian  circles  regard  this  transition  that  they 
looked  upon  the  Jews  as  "  the  synagogue  of  Satan,  "^^  and  not  of  the  Lord, 
the  imphcation  being  that  the  Christians  now  formed  the  synagogue  of 
the  Lord.  With  this  Christian  synagogue  of  the  Lord,  this  new  chosen 
people,  the  elect  nation,  the  people  of  God,^  God  had  estabhshed  a  cove- 
nants^ in  which  the  blessings  of  Abraham  were  to  come  upon  them  be- 
cause the  old  promises  were  still  in  effect.  ^^  The  Christians  assumed,  as 
did  the  Romans  and  the  Jews,  that  "God  is  for  us."^^  Deity  was  re- 
garded as  wilhng  and  anxious  to  confer  reward  upon  his  people.  This 
reward  was  thought  of  in  terms  of  a  rich  ''entrance  into  the  eternal  king- 
dom of  our  Lord  and  Saviour  Jesus  Christ.  "^^  But  one  condition  at- 
tached itself  to  the  granting  of  this  reward:  Christians  must  do  the  will 
of  God.  What  the  will  of  God  was  Christians  were  able  in  large  part  to 
learn  from  the  sacred  book. 

Space  will  permit  the  enumeration  of  only  a  few  items  of  God's  will 
which  Christians  derived  from  the  inspired  writings.  Acts  1:20  ff.  states 
that  the  choosing  by  lot  of  Matthias  to  take  the  place  of  Judas  in  the 
apostolic  circle  was  in  accord  with  the  Old  Testament  direction,  "  'His 
office  let  another  take.'  "  Certain  members  of  the  Jerusalem  Church 
held  that  circumcision  constituted  a  part  of  the  will  of  God  for  Christians 
as  revealed  in  the  law  of  Moses. ^^  Other  Jerusalem  Christians  were  in- 
cHned  to  doubt  the  necessity  of  circumcision  and  to  place  more  emphasis 
on  abstinence  "from  things  sacrificed  to  idols,  and  from  blood,  and  from 
things  strangled,  and  from  fornication.  "^^  Paul,  while  he  was  not  willing 
that  the  law  should  be  made  "of  none  effect,"  was  nevertheless  of  the 
view  that  its  provision  of  circumcision  was  not  binding  on  Gentiles.^^ 
/  Pet.  2:6  finds  in  the  words  of  Isa.  28:16,  "he  that  believeth  on  him  shall 
not  be  put  to  shame, "  a  direction  to  Christians  to  foster  a  faith  in  Jesus 
Christ  as  Savior.  Many  Old  Testament  passages  were  found  to  contain 
indications  of  God's  will  on  matters  of  ethical  and  moral  conduct.  Holi- 
ness in  living  is  insisted  upon  "because  it  is  written.  Ye  shall  be  holy;  for 

««i2ez).,  2:9;3:9.  ^^  Gal.,ZA4:. 

^GaL,    6:16;    //    Cor.,    6:16-18;  ^^  Rom.,  S:31. 

I  Pet.,  2:9,  10;  Heb.  4:9;  11:25;  Rom.,  ^UI  Pet.,  1:11. 

8:33.  "^c/5,  15:1. 

^' Heb.,    8:13;    12:24;    Rom.,   9:4;  92^^^^^15.28,29. 

Gal. ,  4 :24.  "^  Rom.,  3 .30,  3 1 ;  4 :9  fif . 


104  DIVINE  MANIFESTAT  ONS  IN  NEW  TESTAMENT  TIMES 

I  am  holy."^^  Various  virtues,  such  as  compassion,  love,  tenderness, 
humility,  rendering  good  for  evil,  etc.,  are  urged  not  only  because  they 
will  bring  ''a  blessing"  but  also  because  Ps.  34:12  ff.  states  that  ''he  that 
would  love  hfe  and  see  good  days,  let  him  refrain  his  tongue  from  evil, 
and  his  Ups  that  they  speak  no  guile."  Mt.  5:19  lays  stress  upon  the 
necessity  of  observing  the  ethical  requirements  of  the  Sermon  on  the 
Mount  as  a  means  of  securing  admission  into  the  Kingdom.  The  idea  of 
God  as  a  spiritual  being  who  dwells  not  in  houses  made  with  hands  is 
reinforced  by  the  words  of  Isa.  66:1  ff.,  "the  heaven  is  my  home  .  .  . 
what  manner  of  house  will  he  build  me?  "®^ 

The  theory  and  practice  of  the  use  of  inspired  writings  was  thus  the 
same  among  the  Graeco-Romans,  Jews,  and  Christians.  They  were  of 
divine  origin,  and  contained  information  of  a  heavenly  character.  This 
information  was  used  in  various  ways,  but  chiefly  for  the  purpose  of 
obtaining  reward.  The  assumption  among  Christians,  Jews,  and  Ro- 
mans was  that  deity  was  ready  to  grant  blessings  to  men  on  condition 
that  men  did  his  will.     What  his  will  was  the  sacred  book  revealed. 

M/  FeL,   1:16;  cf.  Lev.,   11:44  f.;  95^^^,7:49. 

9:2:  20:7. 


CHAPTER  X 

Conclusion 

A  number  of  final  matters  may  now  be  considered  in  the  light  of  the 
foregoing  investigation. 

The  first  question  to  which  an  answer  should  be  sought  is  that  of  the 
part  played  by  supernatural  manifestations  in  the  Hfe  of  the  people  of 
the  ancient  world.  It  would  be  a  superficial  view  indeed  which  inter- 
preted the  eagerness  for  discovering  evidences  of  divine  activity  on 
every  hand  as  of  no  significance  in  human  experience.  The  custom  was 
too  deeply  rooted,  too  universal,  and  too  persistent;  a  practice  does  not 
manifest  vitaHty  generation  after  generation,  and  century  after  century, 
unless  it  functions  in  some  way  among  the  people  who  pursue  it.  It  is 
to  be  assumed,  therefore,  that  the  zeal  with  which  manifestations  of  the 
supernatural  were  sought  and  welcomed,  is  prima  facie  evidence  that  we 
need  to  inquire  of  what  value  they  were  in  the  society  of  the  time.  Our 
problem  thus  is.  What  did  supernatural  manifestations  do  for  the  people 
of  the  Mediterranean  world? 

The  simplest  answer  that  can  be  given  is  that  the  various  kinds  of 
manifestations  enumerated  in  the  preceding  pages  furnished  the  channels 
through  which  man  derived  help  and  hindrance  from  another  world. 
This  presupposition  was  common  to  the  Graeco-Roman,  Jew,  and 
Christian.  And  here  we  touch  upon  the  question  of  world-view.  The 
Christian  and  his  contemporaries  held  a  static-dualistic  conception  of 
the  universe:  it  consisted  of  two  compartments,  a  flat  earth,  or  man's 
compartment,  and  an  over-arching  heaven,  or  deity's  compartment. 
The  Hebrew  spoke  of  Yahweh's  sitting  "above  the  circle  of  the  earth," 
the  Graeco-Roman  of  "the  floor  of  heaven,"  and  the  Christian  of  the 
"third  heaven. "1  Such  a  metaphysics  furnishes  a  very  fruitful  soil  for 
supernatural  manifestations.  It  is  of  course  true  that  individuals  with 
a  monistic  view  of  the  world  sometimes  see  ghosts  and  spirits;  this  per- 
haps is  due  to  the  fact  that  instinctive  reactions  are  conditioned  by  a 
duaHstic  inheritance  and  early  training.  It  requires  a  distinct  exercise  of 
the  will  to  enable  the  subject  of  such  an  experience  to  bring  into  play  an 

^Isa.,  40:20,   23;   Apuleius,   Florida,  ch.  2;  II  Cor.,  12:2-4:. 


106  DIVINE  MANIFESTATIONS  IN  NEW  TESTAMENT  TIMES 

acquired  monistic  technique.  But  however  this  point  may  be  decided, 
the  fact  remains  that  for  the  ancients  supernatural  manifestations  served 
as  pipe-Hnes  for  the  transmission  of  both  help  and  hindrance  from  deity's 
compartment  of  the  universe  to  man's  compartment. 

Hindrance  from  supernatural  sources  was  of  relatively  less  importance 
in  the  Hfe  of  the  time  than  the  help  thus  derived.  This  was  due  to  the 
fact  that  when  supernatural  powers  in  any  way  interfered  with  man,  it 
was  usually  possible  to  offset  their  machinations  by  supernatural  assist- 
ance of  one  kind  or  another.  If  .certain  celestial  beings  fought  against 
one  in  battle,  there  were  other  beings  who  might  fight  for  one;  if  certain 
spiritual  forces  made  one  ill,  or  otherwise  harrassed  one,  other  agencies 
could  be  utilized  to  protect  him  against  them;  or  it  might  be  that  deity 
opposed  man  only  to  reveal  to  him  his  remissness  in  some  necessary 
observance,  and  to  give  him  an  opportunity  to  set  things  right.  Thus 
we  may  say  that  for  the  people  of  the  Mediterranean  world  so  much 
help  from  supernatural  sources  was  set  over  against  so  much  hindrance, 
with  a  strong  balance  in  favor  of  help. 

The  help  thus  gained  may  be  described  in  general  as  a  re-inforcement 
of  the  natural  powers  of  man  or  of  his  circle.  Sometimes  the  re-inforce- 
'^^  ment  took  the  form  of  information  and  knowledge;  sometimes  it  came  in 
^  the  garb  of  strength  and  power.  The  two  can  not  always  be  sharply 
distinguished.  The  knowledge-form  of  help  could  be  supphed  by  super- 
natural powers  operating  externally  to  man,  in  the  shape  of  specific 
items  of  information  not  otherwise  obtainable;  or  the  same  result  could 
be  secured  if  deity  operating  from  within  transformed  and  strengthened 
the  natural  mental  faculties.  Apparitions,  portents,  divination,  the 
prophet  speaking,  and  the  inspired  book  were  pre-eminently  means  by 
which  items  of  information  were  secured.  When  Vespasian  beheld  the 
vision  of  BasiHdes,  ''he  concluded  .  .  .  that  the  gods  had  favored  him 
with  a  preternatural  vision  ...  in  favor  of  his  future  reign, "  and  the 
passage  implies  that  the  after-course  of  Vespasian's  life  was  consciously 
determined  in  the  Hght  of  the  information  gained  by  means  of  the  revela- 
tion. The  approaching  fate  of  Caligula  was  pointed  out  by  the  fact  that 
the  statue  of  Jupiter  Olympus  suddenly  burst  into  a  fit  of  laughter.  The 
lot  indicated  to  the  Romans  who  the  priests  were  whom  deity  desired 
added  to  the  ranks  of  the  sacerdotal  college.  The  information  derived 
from  a  prophet  that  despite  his  handicaps  of  lack  of  friends  and  social 
position  he  would  nevertheless  attain  to  exalted  political  station  led 
Caius  Marius  to  persevere  against  all  obstacles  until  he  finally  secured  the 


y 


DIVINE  MANIFESTATIONS  IN  NEW  TESTAMENT  TIMES  107 

consulship.  The  worship  of  Apollo  was  set  up  in  the  Roman  capitol  as 
the  result  of  a  direction  contained  in  the  book  of  the  prophet  Marcius. 
These  examples  all  illustrate  the  granting  of  specific  items  of  mformation 
by  external  means. 

On  the  other  hand,  divine  possession  frequently  resulted  in  supple- 
menting and  transforming  the  natural  powers  of  man's  mind  in  such  way 
as  to  render  the  transmission  of  such  information  unnecessary.  This 
is  especially  evident  in  the  case  of  the  prophet  speaking.  For  the  people 
to  whom  he  spoke,  the  prophet  was  a  channel  through  which  they  derived 
information;  for  himself  he  was,  at  least  on  occasion,  an  individual  with 
a  deified  mental  apparatus  enabhng  him  to  speak  divine  words.  Thus, 
when  deity  worked  from  without,  human  knowledge  was  supplemented 
by  divine  knowledge;  when  deity  worked  from  within,  transmission  of 
specific  items  of  information  was  unnecessary,  for  man  was  in  possession 
of  an  inspired  mind  which  needed  to  depend  on  no  external  source  of 
supply  for  its  information.  Yet  in  practice  neither  individuals  nor  groups 
with  deified  mental  apparatus  depended  absolutely  upon  information 
derived  from  that  source  alone.  Had  they  done  so,  there  would  have  been 
little  need  for  the  other  channels  through  which  information  came.  As 
far  as  the  knowledge-form  of  help  is  concerned,  we  may  say  that,  in 
general,  man  had  the  advantage  of  the  use  of  supernatural  information 
in  addition  to  his  own,  or  that,  by  an  interior  transformation,  he  was 
furnished  with  a  divine  mental  equipment  which  tended  to  make  unneces- 
sary, but  did  not  do  away  with,  the  practice  of  obtaining  items  of  knowl- 
edge from  an  other-worldly  source.  But  the  knowledge,  whether  it 
came  from  without  or  from  within,  was  in  all  cases  divine,  and  not  human, 
in  origin. 

The  strength-form  of  help  was  also  suppUed  by  supernatural  powers 
acting  from  within  or  from  without.  If  from  without,  deity  supple- 
mented the  physical  abihties  of  the  individual  by  bringing  his  divine 
power  to  bear  upon  the  same  object  that  man  was  using  his  own  strength 
to  accompHsh.  Sometimes  deity  performed  this  function  by  appearing 
in  person.  In  physical  form  the  gods  guide  Aeneas  to  Dido's  palace  and 
fight  side  by  side  with  the  soldiers  in  the  ranks  of  the  Roman  army. 
Sometimes  deity  permitted  only  the  beneficent  effect  of  his  power  to  be- 
come manifest,  while  he  himself  remained  invisible.  Thus  it  was  that 
Zeus  sent  the  rain  and  regulated  the  seasons,  and  poured  out  pestilence  and 
calamity  upon  those  who  transgressed  his  will.  Acting  from  within,  deity 
transformed  the  physical  abilities  of  the  individual  into  divine  abilities. 


108  DIVINE  MANIFESTATIONS  IN  NEW  TESTAMENT  TIMES 

This  phase  of  the  matter  is  discussed  fully  in  the  chapter  on  divine  posses- 
sion. A  typical  illustration  is  that  of  the  Greeks  who,  when  possessed  by 
Poseidon,  were  "filled  with  strength  and  courage  .  .  .  and  with  active 
vigor  strung. "  Another  may  be  found  in  the  case  of  the  Dionysos  wor- 
shipper who,  after  undergoing  the  interior  transformation,  felt  able  to 
tear  up  trees  by  their  roots  and  carry  away  Cithaeron's  glen  upon  his 
shoulders.  In  principle  this  transformation  from  within  of  man's  physi- 
cal abihties  is  on  a  par  with  the  interior  transformation  of  man's  mental 
machinery;  and,  while  in  theory  it  may  have  tended  to  do  away  with  the 
necessity  of  the  exercise  of  divine  power  from  without  on  behalf  of  man, 
it  never  actually  so  resulted.  There  are  cases  on  record  in  which  man 
availed  himself  both  of  his  own  inherent  divine  power  and  of  an  additional 
increment  furnished  him  by  deity  from  without.  Thus  King  David,  for 
example,  who  possessed  the  Spirit  of  God,  yet  depended  on  Yahweh's 
might  against  the  PhiHstines. 

What  has  been  said  of  divine  assistance  granted  to  individuals  holds 
good  also  with  respect  to  the  group  of  which  the  individual  is  a  part. 
Just  as  information  and  physical  help  came  to  individuals  from  without, 
so  they  came  to  companies  of  individuals,  whether  armies,  states,  cities 
or  the  Christian  community;  and  just  as  from  within  an  individual  could 
be  physically  and  mentally  deified,  so  there  could  be  an  inspired  commun- 
ity, whether  Eleusinian,  Dionysiac,  Isiac,  Mithraic,  or  Christian.  Thus 
from  the  point  of  view  of  the  individual  or  of  his  circle,  it  may  be  said 
that  what  was  lacking  by  reason  of  human  limitations  deity  suppHed, 
either  by  doing  specific  things  or  by  bringing  about  such  a  transformation 
of  natural  endowments  as  to  enable  humanity  to  serve  itself.  In  either 
case,  however,  the  result  was  due  to  deity.  The  means  by  which  he 
worked  were  the  various  methods  of  manifestation  heretofore  described; 
through  these  channels  came  the  power  from  the  other  world  which  was 
necessary  for  the  supplementing  and  re-inforcement  of  the  entire  round 
of  man's  natural  abilities. 

The  assistance  thus  secured  was  applied  by  man  to  the  whole  range 
of  his  necessity.  It  satisfied,  in  the  first  place,  the  personal  needs  of  the 
individual,  whether  these  needs  were  food,  the  healing  of  bodily  ailments, 
knowledge  to  ward  off  demons,  or  the  demands  of  the  soul  both  here  and 
hereafter.  In  like  manner  it  enabled  the  group  to  solve  its  problems, 
whether  the  group  were  Athens  beset  by  plague,  the  Roman  state 
threatened  by  Carthage,  or  the  Christian  community  in  need  of  an  exalted 
Jesus  to  come  upon  the  clouds  as  Lord  and  usher  in  the  Kingdom. 


DIVINE  MANIFESTATIONS  IN  NEW  TESTAMENT  TIMES  109 

The  needs  which  this  supernatural  assistance  met  may  be  looked  at 
again  from  the  point  of  view  of  the  material  and  the  spiritual.  Deity- 
discovered  gold  mines  for  people,  helped  them  grow  their  celery,  told 
them  how  to  catch  fish,  and  sent  earthquakes  to  demoHsh  prisons  and  set 
his  favorites  free.  The  whole  of  the  later  religious  life  of  Apuleius  was 
directed  by  revelations  from  Isis;  a  divine  revelation  caused  the  Roman 
people  to  set  up  the  worship  of  Cybele  in  the  capitol;  by  revelation  Paul 
received  his  gospel. 

Or  again  we  may  look  at  the  needs  from  the  point  of  view  of  present 
and  future.  When  Josephus  was  in  doubt  what  course  to  pursue,  a 
revelation  told  him  that  if  he  cast  his  lot  with  the  Romans  his  status 
would  be  secure.  In  a  similar  manner  Paul  was  constrained  to  pass  by 
Bithynia  and  proceed  into  Europe.  The  Egyptian,  desirous  of  knowing 
how  to  escape  the  terrors  of  the  world  to  come,  went  to  an  inspired  book 
for  the  information;  Christians,  worshippers  of  Dionysus,  and  others, 
in  need  of  the  assurance  of  an  immortal  existence,  read  in  ecstacy  and 
exaltation  of  feehng  the  message  that  with  deity  within  them  they  were 
already  divine. 

It  is  perfectly  clear  from  the  above  that  divine  manifestations  fre- 
quently functioned  in  situations  other  than  those  of  an  ethical  or  rehgious 
character.  Such  a  view  is  of  course  somewhat  at  variance  with  the 
position  usually  taken  in  the  theologies  and  the  creeds.  Any  candid 
examination  of  the  sources  will  reveal  the  part  played  by  divine  mani- 
festations in  politics,  literature,  agriculture,  war,  brigandage,  sanitation, 
and  even  lewdness. 

It  is  to  be  noticed  further  that  manifestations  of  the  supernatural 
did  not  produce  the  situations  in  which  they  occurred,  but  that,  on  the 
contrary,  the  manifestations  grew  out  of  the  situations.  Josephus,  for 
example,  was  face  to  face  with  a  Hfe  problem  before  a  vision  appeared 
to  him  which  solved  his  difficulty.  Rome  was  threatened  by  serious 
dangers  before  it  was  revealed  to  her  that  the  worship  of  Apollo  should 
be  estabhshed.  Paul  had  reached  the  limit  of  Asia  and  had  Europe 
before  his  eyes  before  he  was  told  to  pass  over  into  Macedonia.  In  a 
similar  manner  the  early  Christian  community  was  persuaded  by  a 
revelation  of  the  risen  and  exalted  Jesus  that  he  was  soon  to  return  in 
glory  on  the  clouds  to  estabhsh  a  new  world-order.  Approaching  thus 
the  question  of  the  relation  between  Christianity  and  her  divine  mani- 
festations and  revelations,  we  must  conclude  that  they  did  not  produce 
Christianity,  but  that  Christianity  furnished  the  situations  by  which 


110  DIVINE  MANIFESTATIONS  IN  NEW  TESTAMENT  TIMES 

they  were  conditioned.  An  exceedingly  concrete  illustration  of  this  point 
is  Peter's  vision  of  the  clean  and  unclean.  By  no  possible  interpretation 
can  it  be  maintained  that  the  vision  raised  the  question  whether  and  on 
what  basis  Gentiles  were  to  be  admitted  into  the  church.  The  whole 
problem  was  up  before  the  revelation  occurred.  What  this  particular 
manifestation  did  was  to  render  help  when  it  was  needed,  and  of  the  kind 
that  was  desired. 

The  point  that  divine  manifestations  furnished  the  kind  of  help  that 
was  required  should  not  be  passed  without  a  special  emphasis.  When  a 
man's  interest  centered  in  war,  for  example,  he  did  not  experience  divine 
manifestations  calculated  to  render  him  assistance  in  the  field  of  literature. 
Divine  manifestations  furnished  the  kind  of  help  necessary  to  meet  the 
needs  of  a  given  situation,  whether  the  situation  were  poHtical,  mihtary, 
religious,  or  any  other. 

Thus,  as  far  as  the  question  of  function  is  concerned,  divine  mani- 
festations play  the  same  part  in  all  these  various  situations.  The  Roman 
and  the  Hebrew  wanted  divine  help  in  the  mamtenance  of  political 
kingdoms  in  which  they  could  enjoy  prosperity;  the  Christian  wanted  to 
see  the  establishment  of  an  order  in  which  he  could  enjoy  the  bhss  he 
desired.  All  felt  that  the  supernatural  powers  were  engaged  in  producing 
these  results.  It  is  not,  therefore,  a  question  of  what  end  the  help  was 
expected  to  accomphsh  so  much  as  whether  it  was  accomphshing  it.  On 
the  whole,  however,  the  ends  desired  were  much  the  same:  salvation,  or 
human  betterment,  or  escape  from  present  evil,  whether  the  consumma- 
tion were  to  be  found  here  and  now  in  an  earthly  kingdom  or  in  the  future 
in  an  other-worldly  one;  and  the  means  by  which  man  could  avail  him- 
seK  of  the  coming  advantages  were  being  furnished  him  by  the  super- 
natural powers.  So  we  have  said  that  it  was  the  function  of  divine 
manifestations  to  give  man  the  kind  of  help  he  needed  when  he  needed  it. 

The  fact  that  the  early  Christians,  along  with  their  Graeco-Roman 
and  Jewish  contemporaries,  could  thus  tap  the  common  reservoir  of 
divine  help  from  which  the  entire  ancient  world  drew,  and  tap  it  in  the 
same  way,  is  an  indisputable  indication  of  the  extent  to  which  the  new 
faith  was  rooted  in  the  life  of  the  time.  The  presupposition  behind 
Christianity's  divine  manifestations  was  a  presupposition  common  to  all 
the  world.  We  may  call  it  a  universal  or  ethnic  idea:  man  can  secure 
help  from  another  world.  The  fact  that  the  whole  supernatural  structure 
of  early  Christianity  thus  rests  upon  a  notion  common  to  the  entire 
Mediterranean  world,  and  by  no  means  limited  even  in  its  specific  aspects 


DIVINE  MANIFESTATIONS  IN  NEW  TESTAMENT  TIMES  111 

to  any  particular  people,  social  stratum,  or  geographical  area,  at  once 
throws  grave  doubts  upon  the  vahdity  of  the  efforts  of  those  historical 
students  who  seek  to  discover  a  localized  origin  for  both  the  form  and  the 
content  of  the  new  movement. 

As  Christianity  passed  from  Jewish  to  Hellenistic  surroundings,  the 
way  became  increasingly  open  for  the  entrance  of  Graeco-Roman  in- 
fluences, with  the  result  that  the  view  which  finds  its  main  root  in  Heb- 
rew and  Jewish  Hfe  is  at  least  subject  to  grave  suspicion. 

A  word  may  here  be  said  regarding  the  inter-relations  of  the  terms 
revelation  and  supernatural  manifestations.  At  the  beginning  of  the 
present  discussion  we  defined  supernatural  manifestation  as  an  experience 
of  an  individual  or  group  interpreted  as  due  to  the  activity  of  a  super- 
natural power  or  powers.  Revelation,  as  the  term  is  employed  in  the 
theologies  and  the  creeds,  is  such  an  experience;  but  inasmuch  as  theology 
usually  limits  revelation  to  the  result  of  a  process,  that  is,  to  a  body  of 
divinely  given  information  for  the  benefit  of  the  Church,^  it  is  manifest 
that  vast  areas  in  which  men  experience  supernatural  activity  are  left  out 
of  account.  If  the  term  revelation  is  to  be  thought  of  as  equivalent  to 
such  expressions  as  supernatural  manifestation ^  divine  manifestation^  ox 
manifestation  of  deity,  the  theological  conception  of  it  must  be  greatly 
enlarged.  We  must  think  of  it,  not  as  mainly  concerned  with  a  particular 
group,  the  Christian  community;  not  as  confined  to  a  particular  purpose, 
the  religious  well-being  of  this  community;  not  as  primarily  appUcable 
to  a  particular  thing  which  is  revealed,  the  information  necessary  for 
this  well-being.  On  the  other  hand,  we  shall  be  compelled  to  look  upon 
the  term  as  leaving  more  room  for  manifestations  by  deity  to  others  than 
to  Christians,  of  things  other  than  information,  and  for  purposes  other 
than  the  benefit  of  Christians. 

The  fact  that  New  Testament  Christianity  was  able,  by  its  use  of  the 
various  kinds  of  supernatural  manifestations  enumerated  in  the  present 
discussion,  to  satisfy  such  a  wide  range  of  needs  for  which  divine  help  was 
essential,  is  perhaps  one  of  the  principal  causes  of  its  rapid  growth  and 
spread.  In  the  Graeco-Roman  and  Jewish  worlds  of  the  time,  divine 
power  was  furnishing  various  satisfactions.  If  one  wanted  immortality, 
his  need  led  him  to  a  mystery  cult;  if  he  desired  information  to  enable  him 
to  gain  reward  by  doing  the  will  of  deity,  his  satisfaction  was  gained  in 

2  For   example,   see   Hodge,   Sys-      61-114;  and  Strong,  Outlines  of  Syste- 
tematic    Theology,   vol.    I,    pp.    33-60;      malic  Theology,  pp.  33-66. 
Shedd,  Dogmatic  Theology,  vol.  I,  pp. 


112  DIVINE  MANIFESTATIONS  IN  NEW  TESTAMENT  TIMES 

another  direction;  if  he  desired  the  well-being  of  his  particular  social 
groupjhe  found  it  in  still  another  place.  But  there  was  no  single  center, 
so  to  speakjWhich  could  satisfy  all  these  various  demands.  Early  Chris- 
tianity tended  to  minister  to  this  variety  of  needs.  If  a  man  wanted  help 
against  demons,  or  a  code  for  moral  conduct,  or  a  divinely  established 
and  protected  commonwealth,  or  the  assurance  of  immortality,  Christian- 
ity was  ready  to  furnish  any  or  all.  All  roads  thus  conveyed  their 
pilgrims  to  a  common  center  instead  of  carr3dng  them  by  unrelated 
routes  to  separate  shrines. 


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